在复杂环境里,如何用最少样本找到最优策略?这篇论文给出了关键答案。
The Role of Environment Access in Agnostic Reinforcement Learning
- 提出新算法,通过构建小规模表格马尔可夫决策过程模拟策略价值
- 证明仅靠局部重置或覆盖性重置仍无法实现高效学习
- 在块状马尔可夫决策过程下,结合两种重置机制可实现高效学习
我们在状态空间庞大的环境中研究强化学习,需使用函数逼近以实现高效学习。不同于以往工作,本文考虑最弱形式的函数逼近——无假设策略学习,即学习者在给定策略类Π中寻找最优策略,但不保证Π包含任务最优策略。尽管已知标准在线强化学习下无法实现样本高效无假设策略学习,我们探究更强环境访问方式能否克服此限制。结果表明:1)即使拥有局部模拟器(可重置至任意历史状态),无假设策略学习仍统计不可行,即使策略类可实现;2)在具有良好状态覆盖的μ-重置设置下,同样不可行。我们还分析了更强函数逼近方法,证明PSDP与CPI在缺乏策略完备性时必然失败。但正面结果是:当环境为块状马尔可夫决策过程(Block MDPs)且同时具备上述两种重置机制时,可通过新算法实现统计可解性。该算法通过构建策略模拟器(小规模表格MDP)来近似所有π∈Π的值函数,无需显式值函数类。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
We study Reinforcement Learning (RL) in environments with large state spaces, where function approximation is required for sample-efficient learning. Departing from a long history of prior work, we consider the weakest possible form of function approximation, called agnostic policy learning, where the learner seeks to find the best policy in a given class $Π$, with no guarantee that $Π$ contains an optimal policy for the underlying task. Although it is known that sample-efficient agnostic policy learning is not possible in the standard online RL setting without further assumptions, we investigate the extent to which this can be overcome with stronger forms of access to the environment. Specifically, we show that: 1. Agnostic policy learning remains statistically intractable when given access to a local simulator, from which one can reset to any previously seen state. This result holds even when the policy class is realizable, and stands in contrast to a positive result of [MFR24] showing that value-based learning under realizability is tractable with local simulator access. 2. Agnostic policy learning remains statistically intractable when given online access to a reset distribution with good coverage properties over the state space (the so-called $μ$-reset setting). We also study stronger forms of function approximation for policy learning, showing that PSDP [BKSN03] and CPI [KL02] provably fail in the absence of policy completeness. 3. On a positive note, agnostic policy learning is statistically tractable for Block MDPs with access to both of the above reset models. We establish this via a new algorithm that carefully constructs a policy emulator: a tabular MDP with a small state space that approximates the value functions of all policies $π\in Π$. These values are approximated without any explicit value function class.
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