EMERGENT: Efficient and Manipulation-resistant Matching using GFlowNets

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Tasnim, Mayesha, Acar, Erman, Ghebreab, Sennay
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Tasnim, Mayesha
Acar, Erman
Ghebreab, Sennay
author_facet Tasnim, Mayesha
Acar, Erman
Ghebreab, Sennay
contents The design of fair and efficient algorithms for allocating public resources, such as school admissions, housing, or medical residency, has a profound social impact. In one-sided matching problems, where individuals are assigned to items based on ranked preferences, a fundamental trade-off exists between efficiency and strategyproofness. Existing algorithms like Random Serial Dictatorship (RSD), Probabilistic Serial (PS), and Rank Minimization (RM) capture only one side of this trade-off: RSD is strategyproof but inefficient, while PS and RM are efficient but incentivize manipulation. We propose EMERGENT, a novel application of Generative Flow Networks (GFlowNets) to one-sided matching, leveraging its ability to sample diverse, high-reward solutions. In our approach, efficient and manipulation-resistant matches emerge naturally: high-reward solutions yield efficient matches, while the stochasticity of GFlowNets-based outputs reduces incentives for manipulation. Experiments show that EMERGENT outperforms RSD in rank efficiency while significantly reducing strategic vulnerability compared to matches produced by RM and PS. Our work highlights the potential of GFlowNets for applications involving social choice mechanisms, where it is crucial to balance efficiency and manipulability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_12033
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle EMERGENT: Efficient and Manipulation-resistant Matching using GFlowNets
Tasnim, Mayesha
Acar, Erman
Ghebreab, Sennay
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Science and Game Theory
The design of fair and efficient algorithms for allocating public resources, such as school admissions, housing, or medical residency, has a profound social impact. In one-sided matching problems, where individuals are assigned to items based on ranked preferences, a fundamental trade-off exists between efficiency and strategyproofness. Existing algorithms like Random Serial Dictatorship (RSD), Probabilistic Serial (PS), and Rank Minimization (RM) capture only one side of this trade-off: RSD is strategyproof but inefficient, while PS and RM are efficient but incentivize manipulation. We propose EMERGENT, a novel application of Generative Flow Networks (GFlowNets) to one-sided matching, leveraging its ability to sample diverse, high-reward solutions. In our approach, efficient and manipulation-resistant matches emerge naturally: high-reward solutions yield efficient matches, while the stochasticity of GFlowNets-based outputs reduces incentives for manipulation. Experiments show that EMERGENT outperforms RSD in rank efficiency while significantly reducing strategic vulnerability compared to matches produced by RM and PS. Our work highlights the potential of GFlowNets for applications involving social choice mechanisms, where it is crucial to balance efficiency and manipulability.
title EMERGENT: Efficient and Manipulation-resistant Matching using GFlowNets
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Science and Game Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12033