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Intermediate · Reinforcement Learning

Epsilon greedy policy

Visual diagram · (in preparation) · Math · (in preparation) · Worked example · 3 difficulty levels.

TL;DR. A strategy where an agent randomly explores the environment most of the time, but sometimes exploits known good actions.

Technical Definition

A strategy where an agent randomly explores the environment most of the time, but sometimes exploits known good actions.

How it works

The epsilon-greedy policy is a common exploration strategy in reinforcement learning. With probability epsilon, the agent chooses a random action to explore new possibilities, and with probability 1-epsilon, it chooses the action it currently believes to be the best (greedy action). Epsilon is often decreased over time to favor exploitation as the agent learns.

Related Concepts

  • Reinforcement Learning — A paradigm where an agent learns to make decisions by receiving rewards or penalties from its environment through trial and error.
  • Policy — In reinforcement learning, the strategy an agent follows to choose actions given a state.

Further Reading

  • Google ML Glossary