Variational Stochastic Games

The Control as Inference (CAI) framework has successfully transformed single-agent reinforcement learning (RL) by reframing control tasks as probabilistic inference problems.However, the extension of CAI to multi-agent, general-sum stochastic games (SGs) remains underexplored, particularly in decentralized settings where agents operate independently without centralized coordination.In this paper, we propose a novel variational inference framework tailored to decentralized multi-agent systems.Our framework addresses the challenges posed by non-stationarity and unaligned agent objectives, proving that the resulting policies form an -Nash equilibrium.Additionally, we demonstrate theoretical convergence guarantees for the proposed decentralized algorithms.Leveraging this framework, we instantiate multiple algorithms to solve for Nash equilibrium, mean-field Nash equilibrium, and correlated equilibrium, with rigorous theoretical convergence analysis.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Published
2024-12-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1145/3719545.3719553
Primary Topic
Simulation Techniques and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Variational Stochastic Games

Zhiyu Zhao, Haifeng Zhang
Simulation Techniques and Applications
article

Variational Stochastic Games

Zhiyu Zhao, Haifeng Zhang
article en

Abstract

The Control as Inference (CAI) framework has successfully transformed single-agent reinforcement learning (RL) by reframing control tasks as probabilistic inference problems.However, the extension of CAI to multi-agent, general-sum stochastic games (SGs) remains underexplored, particularly in decentralized settings where agents operate independently without centralized coordination.In this paper, we propose a novel variational inference framework tailored to decentralized multi-agent systems.Our framework addresses the challenges posed by non-stationarity and unaligned agent objectives, proving that the resulting policies form an -Nash equilibrium.Additionally, we demonstrate theoretical convergence guarantees for the proposed decentralized algorithms.Leveraging this framework, we instantiate multiple algorithms to solve for Nash equilibrium, mean-field Nash equilibrium, and correlated equilibrium, with rigorous theoretical convergence analysis.

Shandong Institute of Automation (CN), Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (CN), Institute of Automation (CN)
National Science and Technology Major Project
Openalex Percentile: Top 63%
Simulation Techniques and Applications
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.