Abstract
When machine learning is outsourced to a rational agent, conflicts of interest might arise and severely impact predictive performance. In this work, we propose a theoretical framework for incentive-aware delegation of machine learning tasks. We model delegation as a principal-agent game, in which accurate learning can be incentivized by the principal using performance-based contracts. Adapting the economic theory of contract design to this setting, we define budget-optimal contracts and prove they take a simple threshold form under reasonable assumptions. In the binary-action case, the optimality of such contracts is shown to be equivalent to the classic Neyman-Pearson lemma, establishing a formal connection between contract design and statistical hypothesis testing. Empirically, we demonstrate that budget-optimal contracts can be constructed using small-scale data, leveraging recent advances in the study of learning curves and scaling laws. Performance and economic outcomes are evaluated using synthetic and real-world classification tasks.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems |
Volume | 36 |
State | Published - 2023 |
Event | 37th Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, NeurIPS 2023 - New Orleans, United States Duration: 10 Dec 2023 → 16 Dec 2023 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Computer Networks and Communications
- Information Systems
- Signal Processing