mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

Reward is not enough: can we liberate AI from the reinforcement learning paradigm?

arXiv 2202.03192 ↗First posted 3 Feb 2022cs.AIcited by 0

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Abstract (arXiv)

I present arguments against the hypothesis put forward by Silver, Singh, Precup, and Sutton ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0004370221000862 ) : reward maximization is not enough to explain many activities associated with natural and artificial intelligence including knowledge, learning, perception, social intelligence, evolution, language, generalisation and imitation. I show such reductio ad lucrum has its intellectual origins in the political economy of Homo economicus and substantially overlaps with the radical version of behaviourism. I show why the reinforcement learning paradigm, despite its demonstrable usefulness in some practical application, is an incomplete framework for intelligence -- natural and artificial. Complexities of intelligent behaviour are not simply second-order complications on top of reward maximisation. This fact has profound implications for the development of practically usable, smart, safe and robust artificially intelligent agents.

Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 2 of its 60 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 3 Feb 2022.

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2 of 60 references.

References · 2

  1. 2021On the Expressivity of Markov Rewardcited by 71
  2. 2020Robust Market Making via Adversarial Reinforcement Learningcited by 13

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