Game Theory with Simulation in the Presence of Unpredictable Randomisation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kovarik, Vojtech, Sauerberg, Nathaniel, Hammond, Lewis, Conitzer, Vincent
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Kovarik, Vojtech
Sauerberg, Nathaniel
Hammond, Lewis
Conitzer, Vincent
author_facet Kovarik, Vojtech
Sauerberg, Nathaniel
Hammond, Lewis
Conitzer, Vincent
contents AI agents will be predictable in certain ways that traditional agents are not. Where and how can we leverage this predictability in order to improve social welfare? We study this question in a game-theoretic setting where one agent can pay a fixed cost to simulate the other in order to learn its mixed strategy. As a negative result, we prove that, in contrast to prior work on pure-strategy simulation, enabling mixed-strategy simulation may no longer lead to improved outcomes for both players in all so-called "generalised trust games". In fact, mixed-strategy simulation does not help in any game where the simulatee's action can depend on that of the simulator. We also show that, in general, deciding whether simulation introduces Pareto-improving Nash equilibria in a given game is NP-hard. As positive results, we establish that mixed-strategy simulation can improve social welfare if the simulator has the option to scale their level of trust, if the players face challenges with both trust and coordination, or if maintaining some level of privacy is essential for enabling cooperation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_14311
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Game Theory with Simulation in the Presence of Unpredictable Randomisation
Kovarik, Vojtech
Sauerberg, Nathaniel
Hammond, Lewis
Conitzer, Vincent
Computer Science and Game Theory
Artificial Intelligence
AI agents will be predictable in certain ways that traditional agents are not. Where and how can we leverage this predictability in order to improve social welfare? We study this question in a game-theoretic setting where one agent can pay a fixed cost to simulate the other in order to learn its mixed strategy. As a negative result, we prove that, in contrast to prior work on pure-strategy simulation, enabling mixed-strategy simulation may no longer lead to improved outcomes for both players in all so-called "generalised trust games". In fact, mixed-strategy simulation does not help in any game where the simulatee's action can depend on that of the simulator. We also show that, in general, deciding whether simulation introduces Pareto-improving Nash equilibria in a given game is NP-hard. As positive results, we establish that mixed-strategy simulation can improve social welfare if the simulator has the option to scale their level of trust, if the players face challenges with both trust and coordination, or if maintaining some level of privacy is essential for enabling cooperation.
title Game Theory with Simulation in the Presence of Unpredictable Randomisation
topic Computer Science and Game Theory
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.14311