Exploitation and Exploration
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(New page: John Holland's principle of balancing '''exploitation and exploration''' (Holland, 1992): the right balance between exploitation and exploration allows a [[Complex_Adaptive_System|complex ...) |
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promise, which is continually updated. But at all times exploration | promise, which is continually updated. But at all times exploration | ||
for new possibilities should continue. | for new possibilities should continue. | ||
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| + | Therefore the principle is important for [[Adaptation|adaptive]] information processing | ||
| + | in changing environments. It is also important in many other fields, for | ||
| + | example in reinforcement learning and economics: should companies invest | ||
| + | in research & development and fund innovative ideas or should they try to | ||
| + | use their available resources and techniques more efficiently ? | ||
| + | The principle of balancing exploitation and exploration is based | ||
| + | on two core principles of [[Evolution|evolution]]: exploration means | ||
| + | variation (for example by recombination or mutation), while | ||
| + | natural selection is similar to exploitation. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Swarm Intelligence == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Systems which use [[Swarm Intelligence|swarm intelligence]] are often able | ||
| + | to achieve the right balance between exploration and exploitation. | ||
| + | During food foraging, colonies and swarms must achieve a good trade-off | ||
| + | between exploration (search new sources) and exploitation (use known sources). | ||
| + | Trail-based foraging amont ants and danced-based foraging among honeybees | ||
| + | allow naturally to regulate the number of foragers: | ||
| + | if the trail is weak and the food quality low, many ants will lose the | ||
| + | connection, and start to explore new areas. The weaker the trail, the | ||
| + | larger is the number of lost ants who are able to discover new food | ||
| + | sources. | ||
| + | If the number of dancers in a honeybee colony is low, the unemployed | ||
| + | foragers will leave the colony and start to explore new areas, too. | ||
| + | The lower the number of dances, the larger is the number of scouts which | ||
| + | explore new areas. | ||
== Books == | == Books == | ||
* Holland, J. H. 1992. Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. First edition, 1975 | * Holland, J. H. 1992. Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. First edition, 1975 | ||
