Changing Nature: An exploration of the adaptability of strong priors as a function of precision.
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2021-06-25
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en
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Abstract
Within the eld of active inference, multiple approaches to the use of prior expectations
exist. Speci cally, agents can have expectations that may adapt to changes, or their ex-
pectations can be in nitely precise and therefore never change. We compare the di erence
in behaviour between the two types of agent in an environment where the decisions they
make have an impact on the world around them. We found that the more precise an agent's
prior expectations are, the more certain they are about the decisions they make. This trend
follows up to around 1500 prior observations at which point increased precision has a neg-
ligible e ect on the agent's behaviour. Furthermore, we varied the precision of agents
trapped in a \dark room" and measured the amount of time until the agent is adapted to
the room. We found that the precision of an agent's prior has a linear relationship with
the amount of time taken until the agent is adapted. Finally, we compare our results to
real-world examples and explain how our model might be improved in the future.
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen