AIMay 31, 2023
A Comparison of Decision Algorithms on Newcomblike Problems
arXiv:2306.00175v12 citations
Originality Highly original
AI Analysis
This addresses decision-making challenges in AI and philosophy, offering a novel solution to a known bottleneck.
The paper tackled the failure of standard decision algorithms (Evidential and Causal Decision Theory) in Newcomblike problems like the prisoner's dilemma, and introduced Timeless Decision Theory, which consistently wins on these problems.
When formulated using Bayesian networks, two standard decision algorithms (Evidential Decision Theory and Causal Decision Theory) can be shown to fail systematically when faced with aspects of the prisoner's dilemma and so-called "Newcomblike" problems. We describe a new form of decision algorithm, called Timeless Decision Theory, which consistently wins on these problems.