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Modeling the purposeful behavior of imperfect agents from a small number of observations is a challenging task. When restricted to the single-agent decision-theoretic setting, inverse optimal control techniques assume that observed behavior…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2013-08-19 Kevin Waugh , Brian D. Ziebart , J. Andrew Bagnell

I study a principal-agent model in which a principal hires an agent to collect information about an unknown continuous state. The agent acquires a signal whose distribution is centered around the state, controlling the signal's precision at…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2026-05-05 Fan Wu

We study how a principal should optimally choose between implementing a new policy and maintaining the status quo when information relevant for the decision is privately held by agents. Agents are strategic in revealing their information;…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2020-02-21 Albin Erlanson , Andreas Kleiner

Two-sided matching markets have long existed to pair agents in the absence of regulated exchanges. A common example is school choice, where a matching mechanism uses student and school preferences to assign students to schools. In such…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-09-17 Stefania Ionescu , Yuhao Du , Kenneth Joseph , Anikó Hannák

We introduce a class of learning problems where the agent is presented with a series of tasks. Intuitively, if there is relation among those tasks, then the information gained during execution of one task has value for the execution of…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2012-09-06 Christos Dimitrakakis

A principal decides whether to approve an agent based on a noisy signal (e.g., test scores) generated by the agent. High-quality agents can produce high signals on average at lower cost, but the realizations are subject to noise that…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2026-05-14 Shuhua Si , Yangfan Zhou

This brief note considers the problem of learning with dynamic-optimizing principal-agent setting, in which the agents are allowed to have global perspectives about the learning process, i.e., the ability to view things according to their…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2026-01-12 Getachew K. Befekadu

In principal-agent models, a principal offers a contract to an agent to perform a certain task. The agent exerts a level of effort that maximizes her utility. The principal is oblivious to the agent's chosen level of effort, and conditions…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2022-07-14 Alon Cohen , Moran Koren , Argyrios Deligkas

We consider the design of experiments to evaluate treatments that are administered by self-interested agents, each seeking to achieve the highest evaluation and win the experiment. For example, in an advertising experiment, a company wishes…

Methodology · Statistics 2015-09-18 Panos Toulis , David C. Parkes , Elery Pfeffer , James Zou

Modeling the purposeful behavior of imperfect agents from a small number of observations is a challenging task. When restricted to the single-agent decision-theoretic setting, inverse optimal control techniques assume that observed behavior…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2015-03-19 Kevin Waugh , Brian D. Ziebart , J. Andrew Bagnell

Large language models have shown that impressive zero-shot performance can be achieved through natural language prompts (Radford et al., 2019; Brown et al., 2020; Sanh et al., 2021). Creating an effective prompt, however, requires…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2022-03-30 Gabriel Orlanski

We study principal-agent problems in which a principal commits to an outcome-dependent payment scheme -- called contract -- in order to induce an agent to take a costly, unobservable action leading to favorable outcomes. We consider a…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2024-06-10 Francesco Bacchiocchi , Matteo Castiglioni , Alberto Marchesi , Nicola Gatti

In many settings, an effective way of evaluating objects of interest is to collect evaluations from dispersed individuals and to aggregate these evaluations together. Some examples are categorizing online content and evaluating student…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2016-06-23 Alice Gao , James R. Wright , Kevin Leyton-Brown

Selective rationalization has become a common mechanism to ensure that predictive models reveal how they use any available features. The selection may be soft or hard, and identifies a subset of input features relevant for prediction. The…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2019-12-17 Mo Yu , Shiyu Chang , Yang Zhang , Tommi S. Jaakkola

We study an online learning version of the generalized principal-agent model, where a principal interacts repeatedly with a strategic agent possessing private types, private rewards, and taking unobservable actions. The agent is non-myopic,…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-06-11 Yuchen Wu , Xinyi Zhong , Zhuoran Yang

The ability of a deterministic, plastic system to learn to imitate stochastic behavior is analyzed. Two neural networks -actually, two perceptrons- are put to play a zero-sum game one against the other. The competition, by acting as a kind…

Disordered Systems and Neural Networks · Physics 2009-10-31 I. Samengo , D. H. Zanette

We introduce a stochastic principal-agent model. A principal and an agent interact in a stochastic environment, each privy to observations about the state not available to the other. The principal has the power of commitment, both to elicit…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2024-09-13 Jiarui Gan , Rupak Majumdar , Debmalya Mandal , Goran Radanovic

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 the case of the two-person zero-sum stochastic game with a central controller, this paper proposes a best collaborative behavior search and selection algorithm based on reinforcement learning, in response to how to choose the best…

Robotics · Computer Science 2019-10-01 Yunkai Wang , Shenhan Jia , Zexi Chen , Zheyuan Huang , Rong Xiong

A principal provides nondiscriminatory incentives for independent and identical agents. The principal cannot observe the agents' actions, nor does she know the entire set of actions available to them. It is shown, very generally, that any…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2024-01-31 Ashwin Kambhampati