Exploration-exploitation dilemma

The exploration-exploitation dilemma, also known as the explore-exploit tradeoff, is a fundamental concept in decision-making that arises in many domains. It is depicted as the balancing act between two opposing strategies. Exploitation involves choosing the best-known option based on past experiences, while exploration involves trying out new options that may lead to better outcomes in the future. Finding the optimal balance between these two strategies is a crucial challenge in many decision-making situations, where the goal is to maximize long-term benefits.

Application in machine learning

In the context of machine learning, the exploration-exploitation tradeoff is often encountered in reinforcement learning, a type of machine learning that involves training agents to make decisions based on feedback from the environment. The agent must decide whether to exploit the current best-known policy or explore new policies to improve its performance. Various algorithms have been developed to address this challenge, such as epsilon-greedy, Thompson sampling, and the upper confidence bound.