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This paper studies the optimal mechanism to motivate effort in a dynamic principal-agent model without transfers. An agent is engaged in a task with uncertain future rewards and can quit at any time. The principal knows the reward and…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2026-01-16 Chang Liu

In this paper, we consider a problem of contract theory in which several Principals hire a common Agent and we study the model in the continuous time setting. We show that optimal contracts should satisfy some equilibrium conditions and we…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2018-01-15 Thibaut Mastrolia , Zhenjie Ren

Large language models (LLMs) demonstrate impressive reasoning abilities, but translating reasoning into actions in the real world remains challenging. In particular, it remains unclear how to complete a given task provably within a minimum…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2024-07-02 Zhihan Liu , Hao Hu , Shenao Zhang , Hongyi Guo , Shuqi Ke , Boyi Liu , Zhaoran Wang

We consider reinforcement learning (RL) in episodic MDPs with adversarial full-information reward feedback and unknown fixed transition kernels. We propose two model-free policy optimization algorithms, POWER and POWER++, and establish…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-07-02 Yingjie Fei , Zhuoran Yang , Zhaoran Wang , Qiaomin Xie

We formulate and study a general time-varying multi-agent system where players repeatedly compete under incomplete information. Our work is motivated by scenarios commonly observed in online advertising and retail marketplaces, where agents…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-05-27 Ludovico Crippa , Yonatan Gur , Bar Light

Understanding and predicting the behavior of large-scale multi-agents in games remains a fundamental challenge in multi-agent systems. This paper examines the role of heterogeneity in equilibrium formation by analyzing how smooth…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-07-24 Die Hu , Shuyue Hu , Chunjiang Mu , Shiqi Fan , Chen Chu , Jinzhuo Liu , Zhen Wang

We study the problem of planning under model uncertainty in an online meta-reinforcement learning (RL) setting where an agent is presented with a sequence of related tasks with limited interactions per task. The agent can use its experience…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2023-01-02 Khimya Khetarpal , Claire Vernade , Brendan O'Donoghue , Satinder Singh , Tom Zahavy

Auctions in which agents' payoffs are random variables have received increased attention in recent years. In particular, recent work in algorithmic mechanism design has produced mechanisms employing internal randomization, partly in…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2012-06-15 Shaddin Dughmi , Yuval Peres

In the sequential decision making setting, an agent aims to achieve systematic generalization over a large, possibly infinite, set of environments. Such environments are modeled as discrete Markov decision processes with both states and…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2023-03-31 Mirco Mutti , Riccardo De Santi , Emanuele Rossi , Juan Felipe Calderon , Michael Bronstein , Marcello Restelli

Traditional reinforcement learning usually assumes either episodic interactions with resets or continuous operation to minimize average or cumulative loss. While episodic settings have many theoretical results, resets are often unrealistic…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2026-01-13 Bianca Marin Moreno , Margaux Brégère , Pierre Gaillard , Nadia Oudjane

The setting of an agent making decisions under uncertainty and under dynamic constraints is common for the fields of optimal control, reinforcement learning, and recently also for online learning. In the online learning setting, the quality…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2023-04-18 Aren Karapetyan , Anastasios Tsiamis , Efe C. Balta , Andrea Iannelli , John Lygeros

Large language models (LLMs) have been increasingly employed for (interactive) decision-making, via the development of LLM-based autonomous agents. Despite their emerging successes, the performance of LLM agents in decision-making has not…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-10-16 Chanwoo Park , Xiangyu Liu , Asuman Ozdaglar , Kaiqing Zhang

We study Bayesian automated mechanism design in unstructured dynamic environments, where a principal repeatedly interacts with an agent, and takes actions based on the strategic agent's report of the current state of the world. Both the…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2021-05-14 Hanrui Zhang , Vincent Conitzer

We study the problem of guaranteeing low regret in repeated games against an opponent with unknown membership in one of several classes. We add the constraint that our algorithm is non-exploitable, in that the opponent lacks an incentive to…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2022-07-05 Anthony DiGiovanni , Ambuj Tewari

Reinforcement Learning views the maximization of rewards and avoidance of punishments as central to explaining goal-directed behavior. However, over a life, organisms will need to learn about many different aspects of the world's structure:…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2023-11-16 Thomas J. Ringstrom

We study a bilevel \emph{max-max} optimization framework for principal-agent contract design, in which a principal chooses incentives to maximize utility while anticipating the agent's best response. This problem, central to moral hazard…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-10-27 Tomer Galanti , Aarya Bookseller , Korok Ray

An important problem in sequential decision-making under uncertainty is to use limited data to compute a safe policy, i.e., a policy that is guaranteed to perform at least as well as a given baseline strategy. In this paper, we develop and…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2016-07-14 Marek Petrik , Yinlam Chow , Mohammad Ghavamzadeh

In reinforcement learning, an agent interacts sequentially with an environment to maximize a reward, receiving only partial, probabilistic feedback. This creates a fundamental exploration-exploitation trade-off: the agent must explore to…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-03-27 Josep Lumbreras , Ruo Cheng Huang , Yanglin Hu , Marco Fanizza , Mile Gu

We study a variant of the principal-agent problem in which the principal does not directly observe the agent's effort outcome; rather, she gets a signal about the agent's action according to a variable information structure designed by a…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2024-09-06 Yakov Babichenko , Inbal Talgam-Cohen , Haifeng Xu , Konstantin Zabarnyi

The cooperation mechanism of indirect reciprocity has been studied by making multiple variations of its parts. This research proposes a new variant of Nowak and Sigmund model, focused on agents' attitude; it is called Individualistic…