Guiding Reinforcement Learning Using Uncertainty-Aware Large Language Models

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shoaeinaeini, Maryam, Harrison, Brent
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866913583322890240
author Shoaeinaeini, Maryam
Harrison, Brent
author_facet Shoaeinaeini, Maryam
Harrison, Brent
contents Human guidance in reinforcement learning (RL) is often impractical for large-scale applications due to high costs and time constraints. Large Language Models (LLMs) offer a promising alternative to mitigate RL sample inefficiency and potentially replace human trainers. However, applying LLMs as RL trainers is challenging due to their overconfidence and less reliable solutions in sequential tasks. We address this limitation by introducing a calibrated guidance system that uses Monte Carlo Dropout to enhance LLM advice reliability by assessing prediction variances from multiple forward passes. Additionally, we develop a novel RL policy shaping method based on dynamic model average entropy to adjust the LLM's influence on RL policies according to guidance uncertainty. This approach ensures robust RL training by relying on reliable LLM guidance. To validate our contributions, we conduct extensive experiments in a Minigrid environment with three goals in varying environment sizes. The results showcase superior model performance compared to uncalibrated LLMs, unguided RL, and calibrated LLMs with different shaping policies. Moreover, we analyze various uncertainty estimation methods, demonstrating the effectiveness of average entropy in reflecting higher uncertainty in incorrect guidance. These findings highlight the persistent overconfidence in fine-tuned LLMs and underscore the importance of effective calibration in sequential decision-making problems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_14457
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Guiding Reinforcement Learning Using Uncertainty-Aware Large Language Models
Shoaeinaeini, Maryam
Harrison, Brent
Machine Learning
Human guidance in reinforcement learning (RL) is often impractical for large-scale applications due to high costs and time constraints. Large Language Models (LLMs) offer a promising alternative to mitigate RL sample inefficiency and potentially replace human trainers. However, applying LLMs as RL trainers is challenging due to their overconfidence and less reliable solutions in sequential tasks. We address this limitation by introducing a calibrated guidance system that uses Monte Carlo Dropout to enhance LLM advice reliability by assessing prediction variances from multiple forward passes. Additionally, we develop a novel RL policy shaping method based on dynamic model average entropy to adjust the LLM's influence on RL policies according to guidance uncertainty. This approach ensures robust RL training by relying on reliable LLM guidance. To validate our contributions, we conduct extensive experiments in a Minigrid environment with three goals in varying environment sizes. The results showcase superior model performance compared to uncalibrated LLMs, unguided RL, and calibrated LLMs with different shaping policies. Moreover, we analyze various uncertainty estimation methods, demonstrating the effectiveness of average entropy in reflecting higher uncertainty in incorrect guidance. These findings highlight the persistent overconfidence in fine-tuned LLMs and underscore the importance of effective calibration in sequential decision-making problems.
title Guiding Reinforcement Learning Using Uncertainty-Aware Large Language Models
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.14457