Year: 2020
Type: preprint
Abstract: We introduce the $γ$-model, a predictive model of environment dynamics with an infinite probabilistic horizon. Replacing standard single-step models with $γ$-models leads to generalizations of the procedures central to model-based control, including the model rollout and model-based value estimation. The $γ$-model, trained with a generative reinterpretation of temporal difference learning, is a natural continuous analogue of the successor representation and a hybrid between model-free and model-based mechanisms. Like a value function, it contains information about the long-term future; like a standard predictive model, it is independent of task reward. We instantiate the $γ$-model as both a generative adversarial network and normalizing flow, discuss how its training reflects an inescapable tradeoff between training-time and testing-time compounding errors, and empirically investigate its utility for prediction and control.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Janner, Michael, Mordatch, Igor, Levine, Sergey
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3205756646