Paper ID: 2306.00175

A Comparison of Decision Algorithms on Newcomblike Problems

Alex Altair

When formulated using Bayesian networks, two standard decision algorithms (Evidential Decision Theory and Causal Decision Theory) can be shown to fail systematically when faced with aspects of the prisoner's dilemma and so-called "Newcomblike" problems. We describe a new form of decision algorithm, called Timeless Decision Theory, which consistently wins on these problems.

Submitted: May 31, 2023