What term refers to the dilemma in reinforcement learning when an agent must choose between trying new actions or sticking with known successful actions?

The exploration vs. exploitation trade-off is a fundamental concept in reinforcement learning, illustrating the challenge an agent faces between exploring new actions to discover their potential rewards and exploiting known actions that have previously yielded favorable results.

When an agent explores, it is trying out different actions that it has not yet taken. This is essential for learning because it helps the agent understand the environment more thoroughly and potentially uncover better strategies that have not been tried yet. However, exploration carries risks, as the outcomes of new actions may not be as beneficial as sticking with known successful actions.

On the other hand, when an agent exploits, it chooses to repeat actions that have previously provided high rewards. While this can maximize short-term gains, it may prevent the agent from learning better strategies that could lead to higher rewards in the long term. The balance between these two strategies is crucial; if an agent only exploits, it may miss opportunities for improvement, while excessive exploration can lead to suboptimal performance.

In the context of the other options, a learning curve typically refers to the rate at which a new skill or knowledge is acquired, which doesn't directly address the decision-making challenge. Dynamic programming is a method used in optimization problems, including reinforcement learning, but it does not encapsulate the trade