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<H1 ALIGN=CENTER>Agents Learning about Agents: A Framework and Analysis</H1>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><STRONG><A NAME="tex2html1" HREF="http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/jmvidal/jmvidal.html" target="contents">José M.
Vidal</A> and
<A NAME="tex2html2" HREF="http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/durfee/durfee.html" target="contents">Edmund H. Durfee</A> <BR>
<A NAME="tex2html3" HREF="http://ai.eecs.umich.edu" target="contents">Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory,</A>
University of Michigan <BR>
1101 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2110 <BR> jmvidal@umich.edu </STRONG></P><P>
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<H3 CLASS=ABSTRACT>Abstract:</H3>
<P CLASS=ABSTRACT>We provide a framework for the study of learning in certain types of
multi-agent systems (MAS), that divides an agent's knowledge about
others into different ``types''. We use concepts from computational
learning theory to calculate the relative sample complexities of
learning the different types of knowledge, given either a supervised
or a reinforcement learning algorithm. These results apply only for
the learning of a fixed target function, which would probably not
exist if the other agents are also learning. We then show how a
changing target function affects the learning behaviors of the
agents, and how to determine the advantages of having lower sample
complexity. Our results can be used by a designer of a learning
agent in a MAS to determine which knowledge he should put into the
agent and which knowledge should be learned by the agent.
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<a name="postscript" href="lmas.ps">Postscript version.</a>
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<UL><A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"> </A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html14" HREF="node1.html#SECTION00010000000000000000" target="thetext">Introduction</A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html15" HREF="node2.html#SECTION00020000000000000000" target="thetext">The world and its agents</A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html16" HREF="node3.html#SECTION00030000000000000000" target="thetext">Convergence</A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html17" HREF="node4.html#SECTION00040000000000000000" target="thetext">Sample Learning Complexity</A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html18" HREF="node5.html#SECTION00050000000000000000" target="thetext">Learning a moving target</A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html19" HREF="node6.html#SECTION00060000000000000000" target="thetext">Discussion</A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html20" HREF="node7.html#SECTION00070000000000000000" target="thetext">References</A>
<LI> <A NAME="tex2html21" HREF="node8.html#SECTION00080000000000000000" target="thetext">References</A>
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<P><ADDRESS>
<I>Jose M. Vidal <BR>
jmvidal@umich.edu <BR>
Thu Apr 24 13:32:36 EDT 1997</I>
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