Publications | Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

878 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)

2024

Empowering Change: The Role of Student Changemakers in Advancing Sustainability within Engineering Education

Matthew, V., Simancek, R. E., Telepo, E., Machesky, J., Willman, H., Ismail, A. B., Schulz, A. K.

Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), June 2024, Victoria Matthew and Andrew K. Schulz contributed equally to this publication. (issue) In press

[BibTex]

2024

hi Matthew, V., Simancek, R. E., Telepo, E., Machesky, J., Willman, H., Ismail, A. B., Schulz, A. K. Empowering Change: The Role of Student Changemakers in Advancing Sustainability within Engineering Education Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), June 2024, Victoria Matthew and Andrew K. Schulz contributed equally to this publication. (issue) In press

[BibTex]

LFP transient events in macaque subcortical areas reveal network coordination across scales and structures: a simultaneous fMRI-electrophysiology study

Besserve, M., Safavi, S., Schölkopf, B., Logothetis, N.

Computational and Systems Neuroscience Meeting (COSYNE), March 2024 (poster)

link (url) [BibTex]

ei Besserve, M., Safavi, S., Schölkopf, B., Logothetis, N. LFP transient events in macaque subcortical areas reveal network coordination across scales and structures: a simultaneous fMRI-electrophysiology study Computational and Systems Neuroscience Meeting (COSYNE), March 2024 (poster)

link (url) [BibTex]

Language Models Can Reduce Asymmetry in Information Markets

Rahaman, N., Weiss, M., Wüthrich, M., Bengio, Y., Li, E., Pal, C., Schölkopf, B.

arXiv:2403.14443, March 2024, Published as: Redesigning Information Markets in the Era of Language Models, Conference on Language Modeling (COLM) (techreport)

Abstract

This work addresses the buyer's inspection paradox for information markets. The paradox is that buyers need to access information to determine its value, while sellers need to limit access to prevent theft. To study this, we introduce an open-source simulated digital marketplace where intelligent agents, powered by language models, buy and sell information on behalf of external participants. The central mechanism enabling this marketplace is the agents' dual capabilities: they not only have the capacity to assess the quality of privileged information but also come equipped with the ability to forget. This ability to induce amnesia allows vendors to grant temporary access to proprietary information, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized retention while enabling agents to accurately gauge the information's relevance to specific queries or tasks. To perform well, agents must make rational decisions, strategically explore the marketplace through generated sub-queries, and synthesize answers from purchased information. Concretely, our experiments (a) uncover biases in language models leading to irrational behavior and evaluate techniques to mitigate these biases, (b) investigate how price affects demand in the context of informational goods, and (c) show that inspection and higher budgets both lead to higher quality outcomes.

link (url) [BibTex]

ei Rahaman, N., Weiss, M., Wüthrich, M., Bengio, Y., Li, E., Pal, C., Schölkopf, B. Language Models Can Reduce Asymmetry in Information Markets arXiv:2403.14443, March 2024, Published as: Redesigning Information Markets in the Era of Language Models, Conference on Language Modeling (COLM) (techreport)

link (url) [BibTex]

Koopman Spectral Analysis Uncovers the Temporal Structure of Spontaneous Neural Events

Shao, K., Xu, Y., Logothetis, N., Shen, Z., Besserve, M.

Computational and Systems Neuroscience Meeting (COSYNE), March 2024 (poster)

link (url) [BibTex]

ei Shao, K., Xu, Y., Logothetis, N., Shen, Z., Besserve, M. Koopman Spectral Analysis Uncovers the Temporal Structure of Spontaneous Neural Events Computational and Systems Neuroscience Meeting (COSYNE), March 2024 (poster)

link (url) [BibTex]

Interpreting How Large Language Models Handle Facts and Counterfactuals through Mechanistic Interpretability

Ortu, F.

University of Trieste, Italy, March 2024 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Ortu, F. Interpreting How Large Language Models Handle Facts and Counterfactuals through Mechanistic Interpretability University of Trieste, Italy, March 2024 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Learning a Terrain- and Robot-Aware Dynamics Model for Autonomous Mobile Robot Navigation

Achterhold, J., Guttikonda, S., Kreber, J. U., Li, H., Stueckler, J.

CoRR abs/2409.11452, 2024, Preprint submitted to Robotics and Autonomous Systems Journal. https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.11452 (techreport) Submitted

Abstract

Mobile robots should be capable of planning cost-efficient paths for autonomous navigation. Typically, the terrain and robot properties are subject to variations. For instance, properties of the terrain such as friction may vary across different locations. Also, properties of the robot may change such as payloads or wear and tear, e.g., causing changing actuator gains or joint friction. Autonomous navigation approaches should thus be able to adapt to such variations. In this article, we propose a novel approach for learning a probabilistic, terrain- and robot-aware forward dynamics model (TRADYN) which can adapt to such variations and demonstrate its use for navigation. Our learning approach extends recent advances in meta-learning forward dynamics models based on Neural Processes for mobile robot navigation. We evaluate our method in simulation for 2D navigation of a robot with uni-cycle dynamics with varying properties on terrain with spatially varying friction coefficients. In our experiments, we demonstrate that TRADYN has lower prediction error over long time horizons than model ablations which do not adapt to robot or terrain variations. We also evaluate our model for navigation planning in a model-predictive control framework and under various sources of noise. We demonstrate that our approach yields improved performance in planning control-efficient paths by taking robot and terrain properties into account.

preprint [BibTex]

ev Achterhold, J., Guttikonda, S., Kreber, J. U., Li, H., Stueckler, J. Learning a Terrain- and Robot-Aware Dynamics Model for Autonomous Mobile Robot Navigation CoRR abs/2409.11452, 2024, Preprint submitted to Robotics and Autonomous Systems Journal. https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.11452 (techreport) Submitted

preprint [BibTex]

A Pontryagin Perspective on Reinforcement Learning

Eberhard, O., Vernade, C., Muehlebach, M.

Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 2024 (techreport)

lds

link (url) [BibTex]

lds Eberhard, O., Vernade, C., Muehlebach, M. A Pontryagin Perspective on Reinforcement Learning Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 2024 (techreport)

link (url) [BibTex]

Distributed Event-Based Learning via ADMM

Er, D., Trimpe, S., Muehlebach, M.

Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 2024 (techreport)

lds

link (url) [BibTex]

lds Er, D., Trimpe, S., Muehlebach, M. Distributed Event-Based Learning via ADMM Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, 2024 (techreport)

link (url) [BibTex]

Incremental Few-Shot Adaptation for Non-Prehensile Object Manipulation using Parallelizable Physics Simulators

Baumeister, F., Mack, L., Stueckler, J.

CoRR abs/2409.13228, CoRR, 2024, Submitted to IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2025 (techreport) Submitted

Abstract

Few-shot adaptation is an important capability for intelligent robots that perform tasks in open-world settings such as everyday environments or flexible production. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for non-prehensile manipulation which iteratively adapts a physics-based dynamics model for model-predictive control. We adapt the parameters of the model incrementally with a few examples of robot-object interactions. This is achieved by sampling-based optimization of the parameters using a parallelizable rigid-body physics simulation as dynamic world model. In turn, the optimized dynamics model can be used for model-predictive control using efficient sampling-based optimization. We evaluate our few-shot adaptation approach in several object pushing experiments in simulation and with a real robot.

preprint supplemental video link (url) [BibTex]

ev Baumeister, F., Mack, L., Stueckler, J. Incremental Few-Shot Adaptation for Non-Prehensile Object Manipulation using Parallelizable Physics Simulators CoRR abs/2409.13228, CoRR, 2024, Submitted to IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2025 (techreport) Submitted

preprint supplemental video link (url) [BibTex]

2023

Fairness in Machine Learning: Limitations and Opportunities

Barocas, S., Hardt, M., Narayanan, A.

MIT Press, December 2023 (book)

Abstract

An introduction to the intellectual foundations and practical utility of the recent work on fairness and machine learning. Fairness and Machine Learning introduces advanced undergraduate and graduate students to the intellectual foundations of this recently emergent field, drawing on a diverse range of disciplinary perspectives to identify the opportunities and hazards of automated decision-making. It surveys the risks in many applications of machine learning and provides a review of an emerging set of proposed solutions, showing how even well-intentioned applications may give rise to objectionable results. It covers the statistical and causal measures used to evaluate the fairness of machine learning models as well as the procedural and substantive aspects of decision-making that are core to debates about fairness, including a review of legal and philosophical perspectives on discrimination. This incisive textbook prepares students of machine learning to do quantitative work on fairness while reflecting critically on its foundations and its practical utility.• Introduces the technical and normative foundations of fairness in automated decision-making• Covers the formal and computational methods for characterizing and addressing problems• Provides a critical assessment of their intellectual foundations and practical utility• Features rich pedagogy and extensive instructor resources

link (url) [BibTex]

2023

sf Barocas, S., Hardt, M., Narayanan, A. Fairness in Machine Learning: Limitations and Opportunities MIT Press, December 2023 (book)

link (url) [BibTex]

Denoising Representation Learning for Causal Discovery

Sakenyte, U.

Université de Genèva, Switzerland, December 2023, external supervision (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Sakenyte, U. Denoising Representation Learning for Causal Discovery Université de Genèva, Switzerland, December 2023, external supervision (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Navigating the Ocean of Biases: Political Bias Attribution in Language Models via Causal Structures

Jenny, D.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, November 2023, external supervision (thesis)

[BibTex]

ei Jenny, D. Navigating the Ocean of Biases: Political Bias Attribution in Language Models via Causal Structures ETH Zurich, Switzerland, November 2023, external supervision (thesis)

[BibTex]

Efficient Sampling from Differentiable Matrix Elements

Kofler, A.

Technical University of Munich, Germany, September 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Kofler, A. Efficient Sampling from Differentiable Matrix Elements Technical University of Munich, Germany, September 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Intrinsic complexity and mechanisms of expressivity of cortical neurons

Spieler, A. M.

University of Tübingen, Germany, March 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Spieler, A. M. Intrinsic complexity and mechanisms of expressivity of cortical neurons University of Tübingen, Germany, March 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

CausalEffect Estimation by Combining Observational and Interventional Data

Kladny, K.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, February 2023 (mastersthesis)

lds ei

[BibTex]

lds ei Kladny, K. CausalEffect Estimation by Combining Observational and Interventional Data ETH Zurich, Switzerland, February 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Towards Generative Machine Teaching

Qui, Z.

Technical University of Munich, Germany, February 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Qui, Z. Towards Generative Machine Teaching Technical University of Munich, Germany, February 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ArchiSound: Audio Generation with Diffusion

Schneider, F.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, January 2023, external supervision (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Schneider, F. ArchiSound: Audio Generation with Diffusion ETH Zurich, Switzerland, January 2023, external supervision (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Generation and Quantification of Spin in Robot Table Tennis

Dittrich, A.

University of Stuttgart, Germany, January 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Dittrich, A. Generation and Quantification of Spin in Robot Table Tennis University of Stuttgart, Germany, January 2023 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

An Open-Source Modular Treadmill for Dynamic Force Measurement with Load Dependant Range Adjustment

Sarvestani, A., Ruppert, F., Badri-Spröwitz, A.

2023 (unpublished) Submitted

Abstract

Ground reaction force sensing is one of the key components of gait analysis in legged locomotion research. To measure continuous force data during locomotion, we present a novel compound instrumented treadmill design. The treadmill is 1.7 m long, with a natural frequency of 170 Hz and an adjustable range that can be used for humans and small robots alike. Here, we present the treadmill’s design methodology and characterize it in its natural frequency, noise behavior and real-life performance. Additionally, we apply an ISO 376 norm conform calibration procedure for all spatial force directions and center of pressure position. We achieve a force accuracy of ≤ 5.6 N for the ground reaction forces and ≤ 13 mm in center of pressure position.

dlg

arXiv link (url) DOI [BibTex]

dlg Sarvestani, A., Ruppert, F., Badri-Spröwitz, A. An Open-Source Modular Treadmill for Dynamic Force Measurement with Load Dependant Range Adjustment 2023 (unpublished) Submitted

arXiv link (url) DOI [BibTex]

Synchronizing Machine Learning Algorithms, Realtime Robotic Control and Simulated Environment with o80

Berenz, V., Widmaier, F., Guist, S., Schölkopf, B., Büchler, D.

Robot Software Architectures Workshop (RSA) 2023, ICRA, 2023 (techreport)

Abstract

Robotic applications require the integration of various modalities, encompassing perception, control of real robots and possibly the control of simulated environments. While the state-of-the-art robotic software solutions such as ROS 2 provide most of the required features, flexible synchronization between algorithms, data streams and control loops can be tedious. o80 is a versatile C++ framework for robotics which provides a shared memory model and a command framework for real-time critical systems. It enables expert users to set up complex robotic systems and generate Python bindings for scientists. o80's unique feature is its flexible synchronization between processes, including the traditional blocking commands and the novel ``bursting mode'', which allows user code to control the execution of the lower process control loop. This makes it particularly useful for setups that mix real and simulated environments.

arxiv poster link (url) [BibTex]

ei Berenz, V., Widmaier, F., Guist, S., Schölkopf, B., Büchler, D. Synchronizing Machine Learning Algorithms, Realtime Robotic Control and Simulated Environment with o80 Robot Software Architectures Workshop (RSA) 2023, ICRA, 2023 (techreport)

arxiv poster link (url) [BibTex]

2022

Proceedings of the Second Workshop on NLP for Positive Impact (NLP4PI)

Biester, L., Demszky, D., Jin, Z., Sachan, M., Tetreault, J., Wilson, S., Xiao, L., Zhao, J.

Association for Computational Linguistics, December 2022 (proceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

2022

ei Biester, L., Demszky, D., Jin, Z., Sachan, M., Tetreault, J., Wilson, S., Xiao, L., Zhao, J. Proceedings of the Second Workshop on NLP for Positive Impact (NLP4PI) Association for Computational Linguistics, December 2022 (proceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

Investigating Independent Mechanisms in Neural Networks

Liang, W.

Université Paris-Saclay, France, October 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Liang, W. Investigating Independent Mechanisms in Neural Networks Université Paris-Saclay, France, October 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Modeling subgroup differences in fMRI data: disentangling subgroup-specific responses from shared ones

Keidar, D.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Keidar, D. Modeling subgroup differences in fMRI data: disentangling subgroup-specific responses from shared ones ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Causality, causal digital twins, and their applications

Schölkopf, B.

Machine Learning for Science: Bridging Data-Driven and Mechanistic Modelling (Dagstuhl Seminar 22382), (Editors: Berens, Philipp and Cranmer, Kyle and Lawrence, Neil D. and von Luxburg, Ulrike and Montgomery, Jessica), September 2022 (talk)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

ei Schölkopf, B. Causality, causal digital twins, and their applications Machine Learning for Science: Bridging Data-Driven and Mechanistic Modelling (Dagstuhl Seminar 22382), (Editors: Berens, Philipp and Cranmer, Kyle and Lawrence, Neil D. and von Luxburg, Ulrike and Montgomery, Jessica), September 2022 (talk)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

Multi-Target Multi-Object Manipulation using Relational Deep Reinforcement Learning

Feil, M.

Technnical University Munich, Germany, September 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Feil, M. Multi-Target Multi-Object Manipulation using Relational Deep Reinforcement Learning Technnical University Munich, Germany, September 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Independent Mechanism Analysis for High Dimensions

Sliwa, J.

University of Tübingen, Germany, September 2022, (Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience) (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Sliwa, J. Independent Mechanism Analysis for High Dimensions University of Tübingen, Germany, September 2022, (Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience) (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Patterns, Predictions, and Actions: Foundations of Machine Learning

Hardt, M., Recht, B.

Princeton University Press, August 2022 (book)

Abstract

An authoritative, up-to-date graduate textbook on machine learning that highlights its historical context and societal impacts Patterns, Predictions, and Actions introduces graduate students to the essentials of machine learning while offering invaluable perspective on its history and social implications. Beginning with the foundations of decision making, Moritz Hardt and Benjamin Recht explain how representation, optimization, and generalization are the constituents of supervised learning. They go on to provide self-contained discussions of causality, the practice of causal inference, sequential decision making, and reinforcement learning, equipping readers with the concepts and tools they need to assess the consequences that may arise from acting on statistical decisions. Provides a modern introduction to machine learning, showing how data patterns support predictions and consequential actions Pays special attention to societal impacts and fairness in decision making Traces the development of machine learning from its origins to today Features a novel chapter on machine learning benchmarks and datasets Invites readers from all backgrounds, requiring some experience with probability, calculus, and linear algebra An essential textbook for students and a guide for researchers

link (url) [BibTex]

sf Hardt, M., Recht, B. Patterns, Predictions, and Actions: Foundations of Machine Learning Princeton University Press, August 2022 (book)

link (url) [BibTex]

On the Adversarial Robustness of Causal Algorithmic Recourse

Dominguez-Olmedo, R.

University of Tübingen, Germany, August 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Dominguez-Olmedo, R. On the Adversarial Robustness of Causal Algorithmic Recourse University of Tübingen, Germany, August 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Independent Mechanism Analysis in High-Dimensional Observation Spaces

Ghosh, S.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, June 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Ghosh, S. Independent Mechanism Analysis in High-Dimensional Observation Spaces ETH Zurich, Switzerland, June 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Learning Plastic Matching of Robot Dynamics in Closed-Loop Central Pattern Generators: Data

Ruppert, F., Badri-Spröwitz, A.

Edmond, May 2022 (techreport)

dlg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

dlg Ruppert, F., Badri-Spröwitz, A. Learning Plastic Matching of Robot Dynamics in Closed-Loop Central Pattern Generators: Data Edmond, May 2022 (techreport)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

Proceedings of the First Conference on Causal Learning and Reasoning (CLeaR 2022)

Schölkopf, B., Uhler, C., Zhang, K.

177, Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, PMLR, April 2022 (proceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

ei Schölkopf, B., Uhler, C., Zhang, K. Proceedings of the First Conference on Causal Learning and Reasoning (CLeaR 2022) 177, Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, PMLR, April 2022 (proceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

Data for BirdBot Achieves Energy-Efﬁcient Gait with Minimal Control Using Avian-Inspired Leg Clutching

Badri-Spröwitz, A., Sarvestani, A. A., Sitti, M., Daley, M. A.

Edmond, March 2022 (techreport)

dlg pi

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

dlg pi Badri-Spröwitz, A., Sarvestani, A. A., Sitti, M., Daley, M. A. Data for BirdBot Achieves Energy-Efﬁcient Gait with Minimal Control Using Avian-Inspired Leg Clutching Edmond, March 2022 (techreport)

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

Observability Analysis of Visual-Inertial Odometry with Online Calibration of Velocity-Control Based Kinematic Motion Models

Li, H., Stueckler, J.

abs/2204.06651, CoRR/arxiv, 2022 (techreport)

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the observability of the visual-inertial odometry (VIO) using stereo cameras with a velocity-control based kinematic motion model. Previous work shows that in general case the global position and yaw are unobservable in VIO system, additionally the roll and pitch become also unobservable if there is no rotation. We prove that by integrating a planar motion constraint roll and pitch become observable. We also show that the parameters of the motion model are observable.

link (url) [BibTex]

ev Li, H., Stueckler, J. Observability Analysis of Visual-Inertial Odometry with Online Calibration of Velocity-Control Based Kinematic Motion Models abs/2204.06651, CoRR/arxiv, 2022 (techreport)

link (url) [BibTex]

Voltage dependent investigations on the spin polarization of layered heterostructues

Miller, M.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2022 (mastersthesis)

mms

[BibTex]

mms Miller, M. Voltage dependent investigations on the spin polarization of layered heterostructues Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2022 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

2021

Learning Neural Causal Models with Active Interventions

Scherrer, N.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, November 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

2021

ei Scherrer, N. Learning Neural Causal Models with Active Interventions ETH Zurich, Switzerland, November 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

HealthGen: Conditional Generation of Realistic Medical Time Series with Informative Missingness

Bing, S.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Bing, S. HealthGen: Conditional Generation of Realistic Medical Time Series with Informative Missingness ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Study of the Interventional Consistency of Autoencoders

Lanzillotta, G.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Lanzillotta, G. Study of the Interventional Consistency of Autoencoders ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Physically Plausible Tracking & Reconstruction of Dynamic Objects

Strecke, M., Stückler, J.

KIT Science Week Scientific Conference & DGR-Days 2021, October 2021 (talk)

[BibTex]

ev Strecke, M., Stückler, J. Physically Plausible Tracking & Reconstruction of Dynamic Objects KIT Science Week Scientific Conference & DGR-Days 2021, October 2021 (talk)

[BibTex]

Training with Few to Manipulate Many. On OOD generalization in relational reinforcement learning

Mambelli, D.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

ei Mambelli, D. Training with Few to Manipulate Many. On OOD generalization in relational reinforcement learning ETH Zurich, Switzerland, October 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on NLP for Positive Impact

Field, A., Prabhumoye, S., Sap, M., Jin, Z., Zhao, J., Brockett, C.

Association for Computational Linguistics, August 2021 (proceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

ei Field, A., Prabhumoye, S., Sap, M., Jin, Z., Zhao, J., Brockett, C. Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on NLP for Positive Impact Association for Computational Linguistics, August 2021 (proceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

Promoting metacognitive learning through systematic reflection

Frederic Becker, , Lieder, F.

The first edition of Life Improvement Science Conference, June 2021 (poster)

Abstract

Human decision-making is sometimes systematically biased toward suboptimal decisions. For example, people often make short-sighted choices because they don't give enough weight to the long-term consequences of their actions. Previous studies showed that it is possible to overcome such biases by teaching people a more rational decision strategy through instruction, demonstrations, or practice with feedback. The benefits of these approaches tend to be limited to situations that are very similar to those used during the training. One way to overcome this limitation is to create general tools and strategies that people can use to improve their decision-making in any situation. Here we propose one such approach, namely directing people to systematically reflect on how they make their decisions. In systematic reflection, past experience is re-evaluated with the intention to learn. In this study, we investigate how reflection affects how people learn to plan and whether reflective learning can help people to discover more far-sighted planning strategies. In our experiment participants solve a series of 30 planning problems where the immediate rewards are smaller and therefore less important than long-term rewards. Building on Wolfbauer et al. (2020), the experimental group is guided by four reflection prompts asking the participant to describe their planning strategy, the strategy's performance, and his or her emotional response, insights, and intention to change their strategy. The control group practices planning without reflection prompts. Our pilot data suggest that systematic reflection helps people to more rapidly discover adaptive planning strategies. Our findings suggest that reflection is useful not only for helping people learn what to do in a specific situation but also for helping people learn how to think about what to do. In future work, we will compare the effects of different types of reflection on the subsequent changes in people's decision strategies. Developing apps that prompt people to reflect on their decisions may be a promising approach to accelerating cognitive growth and promoting lifelong learning.

[BibTex]

re Frederic Becker, , Lieder, F. Promoting metacognitive learning through systematic reflection The first edition of Life Improvement Science Conference, June 2021 (poster)

[BibTex]

Improving Human Decision-Making by Discovering Efficient Strategies for Hierarchical Planning

Heindrich, L., Consul, S., Stojcheski, J., Lieder, F.

Tübingen, Germany, The first edition of Life Improvement Science Conference, June 2021 (talk) Accepted

Abstract

The discovery of decision strategies is an essential part of creating effective cognitive tutors that teach planning and decision-making skills to humans. In the context of bounded rationality, this requires weighing the benefits of different planning operations compared to their computational costs. For small decision problems, it has already been shown that near-optimal decision strategies can be discovered automatically and that the discovered strategies can be taught to humans to increase their performance. Unfortunately, these near-optimal strategy discovery algorithms have not been able to scale well to larger problems due to their computational complexity. In this talk, we will present recent work at the Rationality Enhancement Group to overcome the computational bottleneck of existing strategy discovery algorithms. Our approach makes use of the hierarchical structure of human behavior by decomposing sequential decision problems into two sub-problems: setting a goal and planning how to achieve it. An additional metacontroller component is introduced to switch the current goal when it becomes beneficial. The hierarchical decomposition enables us to discover near-optimal strategies for human planning in larger and more complex tasks than previously possible. We then show in online experiments that teaching the discovered strategies to humans improves their performance in complex sequential decision-making tasks.

Project Page [BibTex]

re Heindrich, L., Consul, S., Stojcheski, J., Lieder, F. Improving Human Decision-Making by Discovering Efficient Strategies for Hierarchical Planning Tübingen, Germany, The first edition of Life Improvement Science Conference, June 2021 (talk) Accepted

Project Page [BibTex]

Toward a Science of Effective Well-Doing

Lieder, F., Prentice, M., Corwin-Renner, E.

May 2021 (techreport)

Abstract

Well-doing, broadly construed, encompasses acting and thinking in ways that contribute to humanity’s flourishing in the long run. This often takes the form of setting a prosocial goal and pursuing it over an extended period of time. To set and pursue goals in a way that is extremely beneficial for humanity (effective well-doing), people often have to employ critical thinking and far-sighted, rational decision-making in the service of the greater good. To promote effective well-doing, we need to better understand its determinants and psychological mechanisms, as well as the barriers to effective well-doing and how they can be overcome. In this article, we introduce a taxonomy of different forms of well-doing and introduce a conceptual model of the cognitive mechanisms of effective well-doing. We view effective well-doing as the upper end of a moral continuum whose lower half comprises behaviors that are harmful to humanity (ill-doing), and we argue that the capacity for effective well-doing has to be developed through personal growth (e.g., learning how to pursue goals effectively). Research on these phenomena has so far been scattered across numerous disconnected literatures from multiple disciplines. To bring these communities together, we call for the establishment of a transdisciplinary research field focussed on understanding and promoting effective well-doing and personal growth as well as understanding and reducing ill-doing. We define this research field in terms of its goals and questions. We review what is already known about these questions in different disciplines and argue that laying the scientific foundation for promoting effective well-doing is one of the most valuable contributions that the behavioral sciences can make in the 21st century.

Preprint Project Page [BibTex]

re Lieder, F., Prentice, M., Corwin-Renner, E. Toward a Science of Effective Well-Doing May 2021 (techreport)

Preprint Project Page [BibTex]

Robotic Surgery Training in AR: Multimodal Record and Replay

Krauthausen, F.

pages: 1-147, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, May 2021, Study Program in Software Engineering (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

hi Krauthausen, F. Robotic Surgery Training in AR: Multimodal Record and Replay pages: 1-147, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, May 2021, Study Program in Software Engineering (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Direct detection of spin Hall effect induced torques in platinum/ferromagnetic bilayer systems

Alten, F.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, January 2021 (mastersthesis)

mms

[BibTex]

mms Alten, F. Direct detection of spin Hall effect induced torques in platinum/ferromagnetic bilayer systems Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, January 2021 (mastersthesis)

[BibTex]

Optimal To-Do List Gamification for Long Term Planning

Consul, S., Stojcheski, J., Felso, V., Lieder, F.

arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.06505, 2021 (techreport)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

re Consul, S., Stojcheski, J., Felso, V., Lieder, F. Optimal To-Do List Gamification for Long Term Planning arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.06505, 2021 (techreport)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

Reinforcement Learning Algorithms: Analysis and Applications

Belousov, B., H., A., Klink, P., Parisi, S., Peters, J.

883, Studies in Computational Intelligence, Springer International Publishing, 2021 (book)

DOI [BibTex]

ei Belousov, B., H., A., Klink, P., Parisi, S., Peters, J. Reinforcement Learning Algorithms: Analysis and Applications 883, Studies in Computational Intelligence, Springer International Publishing, 2021 (book)

DOI [BibTex]