Related papers: Curse of scale-freeness: Intractability of large-s…
Many reinforcement learning (RL) problems admit multiple terminal solutions of comparable quality, where the goal is not to identify a single optimum but to represent a diverse set of high-quality outcomes. Nevertheless, policies trained by…
The problem of online learning and optimization of unknown Markov jump affine models is considered. An online learning policy, referred to as Markovian simultaneous perturbations stochastic approximation (MSPSA), is proposed for two…
Large Language Models (LLMs) can self-improve through reinforcement learning, where they generate trajectories to explore and discover better solutions. However, this exploration process is computationally expensive, often forcing current…
Large Language Models (LLMs) can achieve inflated scores on multiple-choice tasks by exploiting inherent biases in option positions or labels, rather than demonstrating genuine understanding. This study introduces SCOPE, an evaluation…
Reinforcement Learning (RL) enhances LLM reasoning, yet a paradox emerges as models scale: strong base models saturate standard benchmarks (e.g., MATH), yielding correct but homogeneous solutions. In such environments, the lack of failure…
We study the problem of resource provisioning under stringent reliability or service level requirements, which arise in applications such as power distribution, emergency response, cloud server provisioning, and regulatory risk management.…
When greedy search algorithms encounter a local minima or plateau, the search typically devolves into a breadth-first search (BrFS), or a local search technique is used in an attempt to find a way out. In this work, we formally analyze the…
A data analyst might worry about generalization if dropping a very small fraction of data points from a study could change its substantive conclusions. Checking this non-robustness directly poses a combinatorial optimization problem and is…
Closed-loop decision-making systems (e.g., lending, screening, or recidivism risk assessment) often operate under fairness and service constraints while inducing feedback effects: decisions change who appears in the future, yielding…
This paper initiates the study of scale-free learning in Markov Decision Processes (MDPs), where the scale of rewards/losses is unknown to the learner. We design a generic algorithmic framework, \underline{S}cale \underline{C}lipping…
We analyze the efficiency of parallelization and restart mechanisms for stochastic simulations in model-free settings, where the underlying system dynamics are unknown. Such settings are common in Reinforcement Learning (RL) and rare event…
Optimization problems with the objective function in the form of weighted sum and linear equality constraints are considered. Given that the number of local cost functions can be large as well as the number of constraints, a stochastic…
We consider a variant of online convex optimization in which both the instances (input vectors) and the comparator (weight vector) are unconstrained. We exploit a natural scale invariance symmetry in our unconstrained setting: the…
In this paper, we provide a new algorithm for the problem of prediction in Reinforcement Learning, \emph{i.e.}, estimating the Value Function of a Markov Reward Process (MRP) using the linear function approximation architecture, with memory…
Robustness and Effectiveness are critical aspects of developing dense retrieval models for real-world applications. It is known that there is a trade-off between the two. Recent work has addressed scaling laws of effectiveness in dense…
Symbolic regression aims to discover concise, interpretable mathematical expressions that satisfy desired objectives, such as fitting data, posing a highly combinatorial optimization problem. While genetic programming has been the dominant…
Parallel thinking improves LLM reasoning through multi-path sampling and aggregation. In standard evaluations, due to a lack of sample-specific priors, all samples share a global budget chosen to maximize dataset accuracy. However, many…
In this paper, we study sequential decision-making for maximizing the Sharpe ratio (SR) in a stochastic multi-armed bandit (MAB) setting. Unlike standard bandit formulations that maximize cumulative reward, SR optimization requires…
This paper is concerned with the sample efficiency of reinforcement learning, assuming access to a generative model (or simulator). We first consider $\gamma$-discounted infinite-horizon Markov decision processes (MDPs) with state space…
Most Probable Explanation (MPE) inference in Probabilistic Graphical Models (PGMs) is a fundamental yet computationally challenging problem arising in domains such as diagnosis, planning, and structured prediction. In many practical…