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This paper studies the safe reinforcement learning problem formulated as an episodic finite-horizon tabular constrained Markov decision process with an unknown transition kernel and stochastic reward and cost functions. We propose a…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-10-15 Kihyun Yu , Duksang Lee , William Overman , Dabeen Lee

This paper considers the problem of distributed bandit online convex optimization with time-varying coupled inequality constraints. This problem can be defined as a repeated game between a group of learners and an adversary. The learners…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2019-12-10 Xinlei Yi , Xiuxian Li , Tao Yang , Lihua Xie , Karl H. Johansson , Tianyou Chai

In this paper, we study the stochastic combinatorial multi-armed bandit (CMAB) framework that allows a general nonlinear reward function, whose expected value may not depend only on the means of the input random variables but possibly on…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2018-07-23 Wei Chen , Wei Hu , Fu Li , Jian Li , Yu Liu , Pinyan Lu

We address multi-armed bandits (MAB) where the objective is to maximize the cumulative reward under a probabilistic linear constraint. For a few real-world instances of this problem, constrained extensions of the well-known Thompson…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-05-14 Vidit Saxena , Joseph E. Gonzalez , Joakim Jaldén

Many applications require a learner to make sequential decisions given uncertainty regarding both the system's payoff function and safety constraints. In safety-critical systems, it is paramount that the learner's actions do not violate the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-05-06 Sanae Amani , Mahnoosh Alizadeh , Christos Thrampoulidis

We initiate the study of multi-stage episodic reinforcement learning under adversarial corruptions in both the rewards and the transition probabilities of the underlying system extending recent results for the special case of stochastic…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2023-11-02 Thodoris Lykouris , Max Simchowitz , Aleksandrs Slivkins , Wen Sun

We consider the stochastic bandit problem with a continuous set of arms, with the expected reward function over the arms assumed to be fixed but unknown. We provide two new Gaussian process-based algorithms for continuous bandit…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2017-05-18 Sayak Ray Chowdhury , Aditya Gopalan

We consider stochastic sequential learning problems where the learner can observe the \textit{average reward of several actions}. Such a setting is interesting in many applications involving monitoring and surveillance, where the set of the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2015-06-22 Manjesh Kumar Hanawal , Venkatesh Saligrama , Michal Valko , R\' emi Munos

We study the tail behavior of regret in stochastic multi-armed bandits for algorithms that are asymptotically optimal in expectation. While minimizing expected regret is the classical objective, recent work shows that even such algorithms…

Information Theory · Computer Science 2026-04-17 Subhodip Panda , Shubhada Agrawal

Reward-biased maximum likelihood estimation (RBMLE) is a classic principle in the adaptive control literature for tackling explore-exploit trade-offs. This paper studies the stochastic contextual bandit problem with general bounded reward…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2022-05-31 Yu-Heng Hung , Ping-Chun Hsieh

This paper studies constrained Markov decision processes (CMDPs) with constraints against stochastic thresholds, aiming at safety of reinforcement learning in unknown and uncertain environments. We leverage a Growing-Window estimator…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-12-25 Qian Zuo , Fengxiang He

We study online learning with bandit feedback (i.e. learner has access to only zeroth-order oracle) where cost/reward functions $\f_t$ admit a "pseudo-1d" structure, i.e. $\f_t(\w) = \loss_t(\pred_t(\w))$ where the output of $\pred_t$ is…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-02-16 Aadirupa Saha , Nagarajan Natarajan , Praneeth Netrapalli , Prateek Jain

We address a generalization of the bandit with knapsacks problem, where a learner aims to maximize rewards while satisfying an arbitrary set of long-term constraints. Our goal is to design best-of-both-worlds algorithms that perform…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-05-28 Martino Bernasconi , Matteo Castiglioni , Andrea Celli , Federico Fusco

We study stage-wise conservative linear stochastic bandits: an instance of bandit optimization, which accounts for (unknown) safety constraints that appear in applications such as online advertising and medical trials. At each stage, the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-10-02 Ahmadreza Moradipari , Christos Thrampoulidis , Mahnoosh Alizadeh

Reinforcement Learning (RL) has achieved remarkable success in safety-critical areas, but it can be weakened by adversarial attacks. Recent studies have introduced "smoothed policies" in order to enhance its robustness. Yet, it is still…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2023-12-13 Ronghui Mu , Leandro Soriano Marcolino , Tianle Zhang , Yanghao Zhang , Xiaowei Huang , Wenjie Ruan

We study constrained contextual bandits (CCB) with adversarially chosen contexts, where each action yields a random reward and incurs a random cost. We adopt the standard realizability assumption: conditioned on the observed context,…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-02-06 Dhruv Sarkar , Abhishek Sinha

We study online learning in constrained Markov decision processes (CMDPs) in which rewards and constraints may be either stochastic or adversarial. In such settings, Stradi et al.(2024) proposed the first best-of-both-worlds algorithm able…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-02-10 Francesco Emanuele Stradi , Anna Lunghi , Matteo Castiglioni , Alberto Marchesi , Nicola Gatti

We study reinforcement learning in stochastic path (SP) problems. The goal in these problems is to maximize the expected sum of rewards until the agent reaches a terminal state. We provide the first regret guarantees in this general problem…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2022-10-18 Christoph Dann , Chen-Yu Wei , Julian Zimmert

This paper studies online convex optimization with stochastic constraints. We propose a variant of the drift-plus-penalty algorithm that guarantees $O(\sqrt{T})$ expected regret and zero constraint violation, after a fixed number of…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2023-07-17 Yeongjong Kim , Dabeen Lee

The stochastic generalised linear bandit is a well-understood model for sequential decision-making problems, with many algorithms achieving near-optimal regret guarantees under immediate feedback. However, the stringent requirement for…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2023-04-12 Benjamin Howson , Ciara Pike-Burke , Sarah Filippi