On the Evolution of Return Distributions in Continuous-time Reinforcement Learning
On the Evolution of Return Distributions in Continuous-time Reinforcement Learning

Author: Harley Wiltzer

Publisher:

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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"This thesis develops the theory of distributional reinforcement learning in the continuous-timesetting. Inspired by the literature on continuous-time reinforcement learning and optimal control, we demonstrate that existing (discrete-time) distributional reinforcement learning algorithms mayfail to converge on the correct return distributions even in very simple environments. To accountfor this, we characterize the return distributions induced by a broad class of continuous-timestochastic Markov Reward Processes, and we use this characterization to inform distributionalreinforcement learning algorithms to account for continuous-time evolution. The characterizationtakes the form of a family of partial differential equations on the space of returndistributions. Furthermore, we address the issue of the representation of arbitrary probabilitymeasures with bounded space, and in doing so we show how under a particular choice ofrepresentation, the return distributions are characterized by a set of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellmanequations, which are ubiquitous in the optimal control literature. We then demonstrate aconstruction of a continuous-time distributional algorithm and study its convergence properties inthe policy evaluation setting. Finally, we provide an implementation using deep neural networks andevaluate its performance empirically against various benchmarks"--

Distributional Reinforcement Learning
Distributional Reinforcement Learning

Author: Marc G. Bellemare

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2023-05-30

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0262048019

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The first comprehensive guide to distributional reinforcement learning, providing a new mathematical formalism for thinking about decisions from a probabilistic perspective. Distributional reinforcement learning is a new mathematical formalism for thinking about decisions. Going beyond the common approach to reinforcement learning and expected values, it focuses on the total reward or return obtained as a consequence of an agent's choices—specifically, how this return behaves from a probabilistic perspective. In this first comprehensive guide to distributional reinforcement learning, Marc G. Bellemare, Will Dabney, and Mark Rowland, who spearheaded development of the field, present its key concepts and review some of its many applications. They demonstrate its power to account for many complex, interesting phenomena that arise from interactions with one's environment. The authors present core ideas from classical reinforcement learning to contextualize distributional topics and include mathematical proofs pertaining to major results discussed in the text. They guide the reader through a series of algorithmic and mathematical developments that, in turn, characterize, compute, estimate, and make decisions on the basis of the random return. Practitioners in disciplines as diverse as finance (risk management), computational neuroscience, computational psychiatry, psychology, macroeconomics, and robotics are already using distributional reinforcement learning, paving the way for its expanding applications in mathematical finance, engineering, and the life sciences. More than a mathematical approach, distributional reinforcement learning represents a new perspective on how intelligent agents make predictions and decisions.

Foundations of Reinforcement Learning with Applications in Finance
Foundations of Reinforcement Learning with Applications in Finance

Author: Ashwin Rao

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2022-12-16

Total Pages: 658

ISBN-13: 1000801101

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Foundations of Reinforcement Learning with Applications in Finance aims to demystify Reinforcement Learning, and to make it a practically useful tool for those studying and working in applied areas — especially finance. Reinforcement Learning is emerging as a powerful technique for solving a variety of complex problems across industries that involve Sequential Optimal Decisioning under Uncertainty. Its penetration in high-profile problems like self-driving cars, robotics, and strategy games points to a future where Reinforcement Learning algorithms will have decisioning abilities far superior to humans. But when it comes getting educated in this area, there seems to be a reluctance to jump right in, because Reinforcement Learning appears to have acquired a reputation for being mysterious and technically challenging. This book strives to impart a lucid and insightful understanding of the topic by emphasizing the foundational mathematics and implementing models and algorithms in well-designed Python code, along with robust coverage of several financial trading problems that can be solved with Reinforcement Learning. This book has been created after years of iterative experimentation on the pedagogy of these topics while being taught to university students as well as industry practitioners. Features Focus on the foundational theory underpinning Reinforcement Learning and software design of the corresponding models and algorithms Suitable as a primary text for courses in Reinforcement Learning, but also as supplementary reading for applied/financial mathematics, programming, and other related courses Suitable for a professional audience of quantitative analysts or data scientists Blends theory/mathematics, programming/algorithms and real-world financial nuances while always striving to maintain simplicity and to build intuitive understanding To access the code base for this book, please go to: https://github.com/TikhonJelvis/RL-book

Reinforcement Learning, second edition
Reinforcement Learning, second edition

Author: Richard S. Sutton

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 549

ISBN-13: 0262352702

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The significantly expanded and updated new edition of a widely used text on reinforcement learning, one of the most active research areas in artificial intelligence. Reinforcement learning, one of the most active research areas in artificial intelligence, is a computational approach to learning whereby an agent tries to maximize the total amount of reward it receives while interacting with a complex, uncertain environment. In Reinforcement Learning, Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto provide a clear and simple account of the field's key ideas and algorithms. This second edition has been significantly expanded and updated, presenting new topics and updating coverage of other topics. Like the first edition, this second edition focuses on core online learning algorithms, with the more mathematical material set off in shaded boxes. Part I covers as much of reinforcement learning as possible without going beyond the tabular case for which exact solutions can be found. Many algorithms presented in this part are new to the second edition, including UCB, Expected Sarsa, and Double Learning. Part II extends these ideas to function approximation, with new sections on such topics as artificial neural networks and the Fourier basis, and offers expanded treatment of off-policy learning and policy-gradient methods. Part III has new chapters on reinforcement learning's relationships to psychology and neuroscience, as well as an updated case-studies chapter including AlphaGo and AlphaGo Zero, Atari game playing, and IBM Watson's wagering strategy. The final chapter discusses the future societal impacts of reinforcement learning.

Encyclopedia of Machine Learning
Encyclopedia of Machine Learning

Author: Claude Sammut

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-03-28

Total Pages: 1061

ISBN-13: 0387307680

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This comprehensive encyclopedia, in A-Z format, provides easy access to relevant information for those seeking entry into any aspect within the broad field of Machine Learning. Most of the entries in this preeminent work include useful literature references.

Markov Chains
Markov Chains

Author: Paul A. Gagniuc

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-07-31

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1119387558

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A fascinating and instructive guide to Markov chains for experienced users and newcomers alike This unique guide to Markov chains approaches the subject along the four convergent lines of mathematics, implementation, simulation, and experimentation. It introduces readers to the art of stochastic modeling, shows how to design computer implementations, and provides extensive worked examples with case studies. Markov Chains: From Theory to Implementation and Experimentation begins with a general introduction to the history of probability theory in which the author uses quantifiable examples to illustrate how probability theory arrived at the concept of discrete-time and the Markov model from experiments involving independent variables. An introduction to simple stochastic matrices and transition probabilities is followed by a simulation of a two-state Markov chain. The notion of steady state is explored in connection with the long-run distribution behavior of the Markov chain. Predictions based on Markov chains with more than two states are examined, followed by a discussion of the notion of absorbing Markov chains. Also covered in detail are topics relating to the average time spent in a state, various chain configurations, and n-state Markov chain simulations used for verifying experiments involving various diagram configurations. • Fascinating historical notes shed light on the key ideas that led to the development of the Markov model and its variants • Various configurations of Markov Chains and their limitations are explored at length • Numerous examples—from basic to complex—are presented in a comparative manner using a variety of color graphics • All algorithms presented can be analyzed in either Visual Basic, Java Script, or PHP • Designed to be useful to professional statisticians as well as readers without extensive knowledge of probability theory Covering both the theory underlying the Markov model and an array of Markov chain implementations, within a common conceptual framework, Markov Chains: From Theory to Implementation and Experimentation is a stimulating introduction to and a valuable reference for those wishing to deepen their understanding of this extremely valuable statistical tool. Paul A. Gagniuc, PhD, is Associate Professor at Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania. He obtained his MS and his PhD in genetics at the University of Bucharest. Dr. Gagniuc’s work has been published in numerous high profile scientific journals, ranging from the Public Library of Science to BioMed Central and Nature journals. He is the recipient of several awards for exceptional scientific results and a highly active figure in the review process for different scientific areas.

Reinforcement Learning and Dynamic Programming Using Function Approximators
Reinforcement Learning and Dynamic Programming Using Function Approximators

Author: Lucian Busoniu

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2017-07-28

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1439821097

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From household appliances to applications in robotics, engineered systems involving complex dynamics can only be as effective as the algorithms that control them. While Dynamic Programming (DP) has provided researchers with a way to optimally solve decision and control problems involving complex dynamic systems, its practical value was limited by algorithms that lacked the capacity to scale up to realistic problems. However, in recent years, dramatic developments in Reinforcement Learning (RL), the model-free counterpart of DP, changed our understanding of what is possible. Those developments led to the creation of reliable methods that can be applied even when a mathematical model of the system is unavailable, allowing researchers to solve challenging control problems in engineering, as well as in a variety of other disciplines, including economics, medicine, and artificial intelligence. Reinforcement Learning and Dynamic Programming Using Function Approximators provides a comprehensive and unparalleled exploration of the field of RL and DP. With a focus on continuous-variable problems, this seminal text details essential developments that have substantially altered the field over the past decade. In its pages, pioneering experts provide a concise introduction to classical RL and DP, followed by an extensive presentation of the state-of-the-art and novel methods in RL and DP with approximation. Combining algorithm development with theoretical guarantees, they elaborate on their work with illustrative examples and insightful comparisons. Three individual chapters are dedicated to representative algorithms from each of the major classes of techniques: value iteration, policy iteration, and policy search. The features and performance of these algorithms are highlighted in extensive experimental studies on a range of control applications. The recent development of applications involving complex systems has led to a surge of interest in RL and DP methods and the subsequent need for a quality resource on the subject. For graduate students and others new to the field, this book offers a thorough introduction to both the basics and emerging methods. And for those researchers and practitioners working in the fields of optimal and adaptive control, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and operations research, this resource offers a combination of practical algorithms, theoretical analysis, and comprehensive examples that they will be able to adapt and apply to their own work. Access the authors' website at www.dcsc.tudelft.nl/rlbook/ for additional material, including computer code used in the studies and information concerning new developments.

Recent Advances in Reinforcement Learning
Recent Advances in Reinforcement Learning

Author: Leslie Pack Kaelbling

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1996-03-31

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0792397053

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Recent Advances in Reinforcement Learning addresses current research in an exciting area that is gaining a great deal of popularity in the Artificial Intelligence and Neural Network communities. Reinforcement learning has become a primary paradigm of machine learning. It applies to problems in which an agent (such as a robot, a process controller, or an information-retrieval engine) has to learn how to behave given only information about the success of its current actions. This book is a collection of important papers that address topics including the theoretical foundations of dynamic programming approaches, the role of prior knowledge, and methods for improving performance of reinforcement-learning techniques. These papers build on previous work and will form an important resource for students and researchers in the area. Recent Advances in Reinforcement Learning is an edited volume of peer-reviewed original research comprising twelve invited contributions by leading researchers. This research work has also been published as a special issue of Machine Learning (Volume 22, Numbers 1, 2 and 3).

Goals-Based Wealth Management
Goals-Based Wealth Management

Author: Jean L. P. Brunel

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2015-02-20

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1118995937

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Take a more active role in strategic asset allocation Goals-Based Wealth Management is a manual for protecting and growing client wealth in a way that changes both the services and profitability of the firm. Written by a 35-year veteran of international wealth education and analysis, this informative guide explains a new approach to wealth management that allows individuals to take on a more active role in the allocation of their assets. Coverage includes a detailed examination of the goals-based approach, including what works and what needs to be revisited, and a clear, understandable model that allows advisors to help individuals to navigate complex processes. The companion website offers ancillary readings, practice management checklists, and assessments that help readers secure a deep understanding of the key ideas that make goals-based wealth management work. The goals-based wealth management approach was pioneered in 2002, but has seen a slow evolution and only modest refinements largely due to a lack of wide-scale adoption. This book takes the first steps toward finalizing the approach, by delineating the effective and ineffective aspects of traditional approaches, and proposing changes that could bring better value to practitioners and their clients. Understand the challenges faced by the affluent and wealthy Examine strategic asset allocation and investment policy formulation Learn a model for dealing with the asset allocation process Learn why the structure of the typical advisory firm needs to change High-net-worth individuals face very specific challenges. Goals-Based Wealth Management focuses on how those challenges can be overcome while adhering to their goals, incorporating constraints, and working within the individual's frame of reference to drive strategic allocation of their financial assets.

Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases
Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases

Author: Ulf Brefeld

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-01-17

Total Pages: 706

ISBN-13: 3030109976

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The three volume proceedings LNAI 11051 – 11053 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the European Conference on Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases, ECML PKDD 2018, held in Dublin, Ireland, in September 2018. The total of 131 regular papers presented in part I and part II was carefully reviewed and selected from 535 submissions; there are 52 papers in the applied data science, nectar and demo track. The contributions were organized in topical sections named as follows: Part I: adversarial learning; anomaly and outlier detection; applications; classification; clustering and unsupervised learning; deep learning; ensemble methods; and evaluation. Part II: graphs; kernel methods; learning paradigms; matrix and tensor analysis; online and active learning; pattern and sequence mining; probabilistic models and statistical methods; recommender systems; and transfer learning. Part III: ADS data science applications; ADS e-commerce; ADS engineering and design; ADS financial and security; ADS health; ADS sensing and positioning; nectar track; and demo track.