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We demonstrate how an evolutionary algorithm can be extended with a curriculum learning process that selects automatically the environmental conditions in which the evolving agents are evaluated. The environmental conditions are selected so…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2021-02-18 Nicola Milano , Stefano Nolfi

Efficiently adapting to new environments and changes in dynamics is critical for agents to successfully operate in the real world. Reinforcement learning (RL) based approaches typically rely on external reward feedback for adaptation.…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2019-03-05 Yuxiang Yang , Ken Caluwaerts , Atil Iscen , Jie Tan , Chelsea Finn

In the evolutionary Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game, agents play with each other and update their strategies in every generation according to some microscopic dynamical rule. In its spatial version, agents do not play with every other but,…

Populations and Evolution · Quantitative Biology 2009-03-08 Luis G. Moyano , Angel Sánchez

Positive affect has been linked to increased interest, curiosity and satisfaction in human learning. In reinforcement learning, extrinsic rewards are often sparse and difficult to define, intrinsically motivated learning can help address…

Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition · Computer Science 2021-04-06 Dean Zadok , Daniel McDuff , Ashish Kapoor

In repeated games, such as auctions, players rely on autonomous learning agents to choose their actions. We study settings in which players have their agents make monetary transfers to other agents during play at their own expense, in order…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2026-02-12 Yoav Kolumbus , Joe Halpern , Éva Tardos

In constrained reinforcement learning (RL), a learning agent seeks to not only optimize the overall reward but also satisfy the additional safety, diversity, or budget constraints. Consequently, existing constrained RL solutions require…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-07-13 Sobhan Miryoosefi , Chi Jin

A robotic swarm that is required to operate for long periods in a potentially unknown environment can use both evolution and individual learning methods in order to adapt. However, the role played by the environment in influencing the…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2018-04-23 Andreas Steyven , Emma Hart , Ben Paechter

Many popular practical reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms employ evolving reward functions-through techniques such as reward shaping, entropy regularization, or curriculum learning-yet their theoretical foundations remain…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-10-15 Rui Hu , Yu Chen , Longbo Huang

Reward functions are central in specifying the task we want a reinforcement learning agent to perform. Given a task and desired optimal behavior, we study the problem of designing informative reward functions so that the designed rewards…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-02-13 Rati Devidze , Parameswaran Kamalaruban , Adish Singla

The objective of many real-world tasks is complex and difficult to procedurally specify. This makes it necessary to use reward or imitation learning algorithms to infer a reward or policy directly from human data. Existing benchmarks for…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-12-03 Pedro Freire , Adam Gleave , Sam Toyer , Stuart Russell

Real-world digital environments are highly diverse and dynamic. These characteristics cause agents to frequently encounter unseen environments and distribution shifts, making continual learning in such environments essential for…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-05-12 Tianci Xue , Zeyi Liao , Tianneng Shi , Zilu Wang , Kai Zhang , Dawn Song , Yu Su , Huan Sun

Bugs in popular distributed protocol implementations have been the source of many downtimes in popular internet services. We describe a randomized testing approach for distributed protocol implementations based on reinforcement learning.…

Software Engineering · Computer Science 2024-09-05 Andrea Borgarelli , Constantin Enea , Rupak Majumdar , Srinidhi Nagendra

Introducing environmental feedback into evolutionary game theory has led to the development of eco-evolutionary games, which have gained popularity due to their ability to capture the intricate interplay between the environment and…

Biological Physics · Physics 2023-08-08 Changyan Di , Qingguo Zhou , Jun Shen , Jinqiang Wang , Rui Zhou , Tianyi Wang

Evolutionary algorithms have been used to evolve a population of actors to generate diverse experiences for training reinforcement learning agents, which helps to tackle the temporal credit assignment problem and improves the exploration…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2023-04-21 Chengpeng Hu , Jiyuan Pei , Jialin Liu , Xin Yao

Reward shaping is an effective technique for incorporating domain knowledge into reinforcement learning (RL). Existing approaches such as potential-based reward shaping normally make full use of a given shaping reward function. However,…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-11-06 Yujing Hu , Weixun Wang , Hangtian Jia , Yixiang Wang , Yingfeng Chen , Jianye Hao , Feng Wu , Changjie Fan

Learning in environments with sparse rewards remains a fundamental challenge in reinforcement learning. Artificial curiosity addresses this limitation through intrinsic rewards to guide exploration, however, the precise formulation of these…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-04-20 Alexander Nedergaard , Pablo A. Morales

To perform robot manipulation tasks, a low-dimensional state of the environment typically needs to be estimated. However, designing a state estimator can sometimes be difficult, especially in environments with deformable objects. An…

Robotics · Computer Science 2019-07-16 Xingyu Lin , Harjatin Singh Baweja , David Held

Reward functions are central in reinforcement learning (RL), guiding agents towards optimal decision-making. The complexity of RL tasks requires meticulously designed reward functions that effectively drive learning while avoiding…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-03-31 Rati Devidze

We revisit the role of instrumental value as a driver of adaptive behavior. In active inference, instrumental or extrinsic value is quantified by the information-theoretic surprisal of a set of observations measuring the extent to which…

Neurons and Cognition · Quantitative Biology 2020-10-14 Alvaro Ovalle , Simon M. Lucas

In repeated interactions between individuals, we do not expect that exactly the same situation will occur from one time to another. Contrary to what is common in models of repeated games in the literature, most real situations may differ a…

Populations and Evolution · Quantitative Biology 2007-05-23 Anders Eriksson , Kristian Lindgren