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Policy optimization (PO) algorithms are used to refine Large Language Models for complex, multi-step reasoning. Current state-of-the-art pipelines enforce a strict think-then-answer format to elicit chain-of-thought (CoT); however, the…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2025-10-28 Debdeep Sanyal , Aakash Sen Sharma , Dhruv Kumar , Saurabh Deshpande , Murari Mandal

Using reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF) has shown significant promise in fine-tuning diffusion models. Previous methods start by training a reward model that aligns with human preferences, then leverage RL techniques to…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-03-26 Kai Yang , Jian Tao , Jiafei Lyu , Chunjiang Ge , Jiaxin Chen , Qimai Li , Weihan Shen , Xiaolong Zhu , Xiu Li

Most reinforcement learning algorithms seek a single optimal strategy that solves a given task. However, it can often be valuable to learn a diverse set of solutions, for instance, to make an agent's interaction with users more engaging, or…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-01-09 Wentse Chen , Shiyu Huang , Yuan Chiang , Tim Pearce , Wei-Wei Tu , Ting Chen , Jun Zhu

Reward-based alignment methods for large language models (LLMs) face two key limitations: vulnerability to reward hacking, where models exploit flaws in the reward signal; and reliance on brittle, labor-intensive prompt engineering when…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2025-05-20 Zae Myung Kim , Chanwoo Park , Vipul Raheja , Suin Kim , Dongyeop Kang

Reinforcement learning with verifiable reward has recently emerged as a central paradigm for post-training large language models (LLMs); however, prevailing mean-based methods, such as Group Relative Policy Optimization (GRPO), suffer from…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-10-02 Tao Ren , Jinyang Jiang , Hui Yang , Wan Tian , Minhao Zou , Guanghao Li , Zishi Zhang , Qinghao Wang , Shentao Qin , Yanjun Zhao , Rui Tao , Hui Shao , Yijie Peng

Large Language Models (LLMs) empowered with Tool-Integrated Reasoning (TIR) can iteratively plan, call external tools, and integrate returned information to solve complex, long-horizon reasoning tasks. Agentic Reinforcement Learning…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-01-21 Jianghao Su , Xia Zeng , Luhui Liu , Chao Luo , Ye Chen , Zhuoran Zhuang

Online and offline RLHF methods, such as PPO and DPO, have been highly successful in aligning AI with human preferences. Despite their success, however, these methods suffer from fundamental limitations: (a) Models trained with RLHF can…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-04-15 Eugene Choi , Arash Ahmadian , Matthieu Geist , Oilvier Pietquin , Mohammad Gheshlaghi Azar

We propose a new family of policy gradient methods for reinforcement learning, which alternate between sampling data through interaction with the environment, and optimizing a "surrogate" objective function using stochastic gradient ascent.…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2017-08-29 John Schulman , Filip Wolski , Prafulla Dhariwal , Alec Radford , Oleg Klimov

We deploy large language models (LLMs) as business development (BD) agents for persuasive price negotiation in online travel agencies (OTAs). The agent must follow a multi-stage Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and strict guardrails (no…

Computation and Language · Computer Science 2026-04-30 Xia Zeng , Yihan Chen , Luhui Liu , Chao Luo , Ye Chen , Zhuoran Zhuang

On-policy reinforcement learning methods like GRPO suffer from mode collapse: they exhibit reduced solution diversity, concentrating probability mass on a single solution once discovered and ceasing exploration of alternative strategies. We…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2026-05-20 Xiaozhe Li , Yang Li , Xinyu Fang , Shengyuan Ding , Peiji Li , Yongkang Chen , Yichuan Ma , Tianyi Lyu , Linyang Li , Dahua Lin , Qipeng Guo , Qingwen Liu , Kai Chen

Direct Preference Optimisation (DPO) has emerged as a powerful method for aligning Large Language Models (LLMs) with human preferences, offering a stable and efficient alternative to approaches that use Reinforcement learning via Human…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2025-05-06 Sarvesh Shashidhar , Ritik , Nachiketa Patil , Suraj Racha , Ganesh Ramakrishnan

Efficient truck dispatching via Reinforcement Learning (RL) in open-pit mining is often hindered by reliance on complex reward engineering and value-based methods. This paper introduces Curriculum-inspired Adaptive Direct Policy Guidance, a…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-03-03 Shi Meng , Bin Tian , Xiaotong Zhang

Multi-turn tool calling is challenging for Large Language Models (LLMs) because rewards are sparse and exploration is expensive. A common recipe, SFT followed by GRPO, can stall when within-group reward variation is low (e.g., more rollouts…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2026-02-04 Haitian Zhong , Jixiu Zhai , Lei Song , Jiang Bian , Qiang Liu , Tieniu Tan

We study reinforcement learning (RL) in the setting of continuous time and space, for an infinite horizon with a discounted objective and the underlying dynamics driven by a stochastic differential equation. Built upon recent advances in…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2023-10-19 Hanyang Zhao , Wenpin Tang , David D. Yao

Direct Preference Optimization (DPO) has become a popular approach for aligning language models using pairwise preferences. However, in practical post-training pipelines, on-policy generation typically yields multiple candidate responses…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-06-23 Taneesh Gupta , Rahul Madhavan , Xuchao Zhang , Nagarajan Natarajan , Chetan Bansal , Saravan Rajmohan

Safe Reinforcement Learning (Safe RL) aims to train an RL agent to maximize its performance in real-world environments while adhering to safety constraints, as exceeding safety violation limits can result in severe consequences. In this…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-04-07 Hanping Zhang , Yuhong Guo

Few-step diffusion models enable efficient high-resolution image synthesis but struggle to align with specific downstream objectives due to limitations of existing reinforcement learning (RL) methods in low-step regimes with limited state…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-03-02 Ziyi Zhang , Li Shen , Sen Zhang , Deheng Ye , Yong Luo , Miaojing Shi , Dongjing Shan , Bo Du , Dacheng Tao

Human preference alignment is critical in building powerful and reliable large language models (LLMs). However, current methods either ignore the multi-dimensionality of human preferences (e.g. helpfulness and harmlessness) or struggle with…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-10-14 Xingzhou Lou , Junge Zhang , Jian Xie , Lifeng Liu , Dong Yan , Kaiqi Huang

Traditional preference tuning methods for LLMs/Visual Generative Models often rely solely on reward model labeling, which can be opaque, offer limited insights into the rationale behind preferences, and are prone to issues such as reward…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-01-13 Hanyang Zhao , Haoxian Chen , Yucheng Guo , Genta Indra Winata , Tingting Ou , Ziyu Huang , David D. Yao , Wenpin Tang

This paper presents a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework for dynamic portfolio optimization under market uncertainty and risk. The proposed model integrates a Sharpe ratio-based reward function with direct risk control mechanisms,…

Portfolio Management · Quantitative Finance 2025-11-17 Emmanuel Lwele , Sabuni Emmanuel , Sitali Gabriel Sitali