Yangchun Zhang

Wanying Wang, Yichen Zhu, Yirui Zhou et al.

Generative Adversarial Imitation Learning (GAIL) stands as a cornerstone approach in imitation learning. This paper investigates the gradient explosion in two types of GAIL: GAIL with deterministic policy (DE-GAIL) and GAIL with stochastic policy (ST-GAIL). We begin with the observation that the training can be highly unstable for DE-GAIL at the beginning of the training phase and end up divergence. Conversely, the ST-GAIL training trajectory remains consistent, reliably converging. To shed light on these disparities, we provide an explanation from a theoretical perspective. By establishing a probabilistic lower bound for GAIL, we demonstrate that gradient explosion is an inevitable outcome for DE-GAIL due to occasionally large expert-imitator policy disparity, whereas ST-GAIL does not have the issue with it. To substantiate our assertion, we illustrate how modifications in the reward function can mitigate the gradient explosion challenge. Finally, we propose CREDO, a simple yet effective strategy that clips the reward function during the training phase, allowing the GAIL to enjoy high data efficiency and stable trainability.

Yirui Zhou, Yunfei Jin, Xiaowei Liu et al.

Learning from observations (LfO) replicates expert behavior without needing access to the expert's actions, making it more practical than learning from demonstrations (LfD) in many real-world scenarios. However, directly applying the on-policy training scheme in LfO worsens the sample inefficiency problem, while employing the traditional off-policy training scheme in LfO magnifies the instability issue. This paper seeks to develop an efficient and stable solution for the LfO problem. Specifically, we begin by exploring the generalization capabilities of both the reward function and policy in LfO, which provides a theoretical foundation for computation. Building on this, we modify the policy optimization method in generative adversarial imitation from observation (GAIfO) with distributional soft actor-critic (DSAC), and propose the Mimicking Observations through Distributional Update Learning with adequate Exploration (MODULE) algorithm to solve the LfO problem. MODULE incorporates the advantages of (1) high sample efficiency and training robustness enhancement in soft actor-critic (SAC), and (2) training stability in distributional reinforcement learning (RL). Extensive experiments in MuJoCo environments showcase the superior performance of MODULE over current LfO methods.

Wanying Wang, Zeyu Ma, Xuhong Wang et al.

As Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly deployed in highly specialized vertical domains, the evaluation of their domain-specific performance becomes critical. However, existing evaluations for vertical domains typically rely on the labor-intensive construction of static single-turn datasets, which present two key limitations: (i) manual data construction is costly and must be repeated for each new domain, and (ii) static single-turn evaluations are misaligned with the dynamic multi-turn interactions in real-world applications, limiting the assessment of professionalism and stability. To address these, we propose TestAgent, a framework for automatic benchmarking and exploratory dynamic evaluation in vertical domains. TestAgent leverages retrieval-augmented generation to create domain-specific questions from user-provided knowledge sources, combined with a two-stage criteria generation process, thereby enabling scalable and automated benchmark creation. Furthermore, it introduces a reinforcement learning-guided multi-turn interaction strategy that adaptively determines question types based on real-time model responses, dynamically probing knowledge boundaries and stability. Extensive experiments across medical, legal, and governmental domains demonstrate that TestAgent enables efficient cross-domain benchmark generation and yields deeper insights into model behavior through dynamic exploratory evaluation. This work establishes a new paradigm for automated and in-depth evaluation of LLMs in vertical domains.

Yangchun Zhang, Qiang Liu, Weiming Li et al.

Adversarial inverse reinforcement learning (AIRL) stands as a cornerstone approach in imitation learning, yet it faces criticisms from prior studies. In this paper, we rethink AIRL and respond to these criticisms. Criticism 1 lies in Inadequate Policy Imitation. We show that substituting the built-in algorithm with soft actor-critic (SAC) during policy updating (requires multi-iterations) significantly enhances the efficiency of policy imitation. Criticism 2 lies in Limited Performance in Transferable Reward Recovery Despite SAC Integration. While we find that SAC indeed exhibits a significant improvement in policy imitation, it introduces drawbacks to transferable reward recovery. We prove that the SAC algorithm itself is not feasible to disentangle the reward function comprehensively during the AIRL training process, and propose a hybrid framework, PPO-AIRL + SAC, for a satisfactory transfer effect. Criticism 3 lies in Unsatisfactory Proof from the Perspective of Potential Equilibrium. We reanalyze it from an algebraic theory perspective.