Ignoring critique, attacking the critic

Actor-Critic Models of Animal Control - A critique of reinforcement learning

In this article we will compare traditional reinforcement learning techniques with a novel correlation based algorithm. We will discuss several problems which occur in reward-based reinforcement learning and outline alternative solutions. An example of a robot control task shown at the end will support our claims.

The Eigenoption-Critic Framework

Eigenoptions (EOs) have been recently introduced as a promising idea for generating a diverse set of options through the graph Laplacian, having been shown to allow efficient exploration Machado et al. [2017a]. Despite its first initial promising results, a couple of issues in current algorithms limit its application, namely: 1) EO methods require two separate steps (eigenoption discovery and r...

Ignoring steroids

A new study by Ito and colleagues on page 7 may help explain why patients with a severe lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) fail to respond to steroid treatment. Ito and colleagues show that steroids require the enzyme HDAC2 (histone deacetylase 2) to block the inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB. In patients with COPD, HDAC2 activity is reduced, rendering cells...

Empathy and the Critic

Ann Jurecic is assistant professor in the Department of English at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, where she teaches courses in writing as well as literature and medicine. Her book Illness as Narrative is forthcoming from University of Pittsburgh Press. Her work has appeared in the journals Literature and Medicine, Pedagogy, and Biography as well as in College English, and she serves as book...

The Well-Tempered Critic