Adversarial Search
Adversarial search is a search, where we examine the problem which arises
when we try to plan ahead of the world and other agents are planning against
us.
o In previous topics, we have studied the search strategies which are only
associated with a single agent that aims to find the solution which often
expressed in the form of a sequence of actions.
o But, there might be some situations where more than one agent is searching
for the solution in the same search space, and this situation usually occurs in
game playing.
o The environment with more than one agent is termed as multi-agent
environment, in which each agent is an opponent of other agent and playing
against each other. Each agent needs to consider the action of other agent
and effect of that action on their performance.
o So, Searches in which two or more players with conflicting goals are
trying to explore the same search space for the solution, are called
adversarial searches, often known as Games.
o Games are modeled as a Search problem and heuristic evaluation function,
and these are the two main factors which help to model and solve games in
AI.
Types of Games in AI:
Deterministic Chance Moves
Perfect information Chess, Checkers, go, Othello Backgammon, monopoly
Imperfect information Battleships, blind, tic-tac-toe Bridge, poker, scrabble, nuclear war
o Perfect information: A game with the perfect information is that in which
agents can look into the complete board. Agents have all the information
about the game, and they can see each other moves also. Examples are Chess,
Checkers, Go, etc.
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o Imperfect information: If in a game agents do not have all information about
the game and not aware with what's going on, such type of games are called
the game with imperfect information, such as tic-tac-toe, Battleship, blind,
Bridge, etc.
o Deterministic games: Deterministic games are those games which follow a
strict pattern and set of rules for the games, and there is no randomness
associated with them. Examples are chess, Checkers, Go, tic-tac-toe, etc.
o Non-deterministic games: Non-deterministic are those games which have
various unpredictable events and has a factor of chance or luck. This factor of
chance or luck is introduced by either dice or cards. These are random, and
each action response is not fixed. Such games are also called as stochastic
games.
Example: Backgammon, Monopoly, Poker, etc.
Zero-Sum Game
o Zero-sum games are adversarial search which involves pure competition.
o In Zero-sum game each agent's gain or loss of utility is exactly balanced by the losses
or gains of utility of another agent.
o One player of the game try to maximize one single value, while other player tries to
minimize it.
o Each move by one player in the game is called as ply.
o Chess and tic-tac-toe are examples of a Zero-sum game.
Zero-sum game: Embedded thinking
The Zero-sum game involved embedded thinking in which one agent or player is
trying to figure out:
o What to do.
o How to decide the move
o Needs to think about his opponent as well
o The opponent also thinks what to do
Each of the players is trying to find out the response of his opponent to their actions.
This requires embedded thinking or backward reasoning to solve the game problems
in AI.
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Formalization of the problem:
A game can be defined as a type of search in AI which can be formalized of the
following elements:
o Initial state: It specifies how the game is set up at the start.
o Player(s): It specifies which player has moved in the state space.
o Action(s): It returns the set of legal moves in state space.
o Result(s, a): It is the transition model, which specifies the result of moves in
the state space.
o Terminal-Test(s): Terminal test is true if the game is over, else it is false at
any case. The state where the game ends is called terminal states.
o Utility(s, p): A utility function gives the final numeric value for a game that
ends in terminal states s for player p. It is also called payoff function. For
Chess, the outcomes are a win, loss, or draw and its payoff values are +1, 0, ½.
And for tic-tac-toe, utility values are +1, -1, and 0.
Game tree:
A game tree is a tree where nodes of the tree are the game states and Edges of the
tree are the moves by players. Game tree involves initial state, actions function, and
result Function.
Example: Tic-Tac-Toe game tree:
The following figure is showing part of the game-tree for tic-tac-toe game. Following
are some key points of the game:
o There are two players MAX and MIN.
o Players have an alternate turn and start with MAX.
o MAX maximizes the result of the game tree
o MIN minimizes the result.
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Example Explanation:
o From the initial state, MAX has 9 possible moves as he starts first. MAX place x
and MIN place o, and both player plays alternatively until we reach a leaf node
where one player has three in a row or all squares are filled.
o Both players will compute each node, minimax, the minimax value which is the
best achievable utility against an optimal adversary.
o Suppose both the players are well aware of the tic-tac-toe and playing the
best play. Each player is doing his best to prevent another one from winning.
MIN is acting against Max in the game.
o So in the game tree, we have a layer of Max, a layer of MIN, and each layer is
called as Ply. Max place x, then MIN puts o to prevent Max from winning, and
this game continues until the terminal node.
o In this either MIN wins, MAX wins, or it's a draw. This game-tree is the whole
search space of possibilities that MIN and MAX are playing tic-tac-toe and
taking turns alternately.
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Hence adversarial Search for the minimax procedure works as follows:
o It aims to find the optimal strategy for MAX to win the game.
o It follows the approach of Depth-first search.
o In the game tree, optimal leaf node could appear at any depth of the tree.
o Propagate the minimax values up to the tree until the terminal node
discovered.
In a given game tree, the optimal strategy can be determined from the minimax
value of each node, which can be written as MINIMAX(n). MAX prefer to move to a
state of maximum value and MIN prefer to move to a state of minimum value then:
Mini-Max Algorithm in Artificial Intelligence
o Mini-max algorithm is a recursive or backtracking algorithm which is used in
decision-making and game theory. It provides an optimal move for the player
assuming that opponent is also playing optimally.
o Mini-Max algorithm uses recursion to search through the game-tree.
o Min-Max algorithm is mostly used for game playing in AI. Such as Chess,
Checkers, tic-tac-toe, go, and various tow-players game. This Algorithm
computes the minimax decision for the current state.
o In this algorithm two players play the game, one is called MAX and other is
called MIN.
o Both the players fight it as the opponent player gets the minimum benefit
while they get the maximum benefit.
o Both Players of the game are opponent of each other, where MAX will select
the maximized value and MIN will select the minimized value.
o The minimax algorithm performs a depth-first search algorithm for the
exploration of the complete game tree.
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o The minimax algorithm proceeds all the way down to the terminal node of the
tree, then backtrack the tree as the recursion.
Pseudo-code for MinMax Algorithm:
1. function minimax(node, depth, maximizingPlayer) is
2. if depth ==0 or node is a terminal node then
3. return static evaluation of node
4.
5. if MaximizingPlayer then // for Maximizer Player
6. maxEva= -infinity
7. for each child of node do
8. eva= minimax(child, depth-1, false)
9. maxEva= max(maxEva,eva) //gives Maximum of the values
10. return maxEva
11.
12. else // for Minimizer player
13. minEva= +infinity
14. for each child of node do
15. eva= minimax(child, depth-1, true)
16. minEva= min(minEva, eva) //gives minimum of the values
17. return minEva
Initial call:
Minimax(node, 3, true)
Working of Min-Max Algorithm:
o The working of the minimax algorithm can be easily described using an
example. Below we have taken an example of game-tree which is representing
the two-player game.
o In this example, there are two players one is called Maximizer and other is
called Minimizer.
o Maximizer will try to get the Maximum possible score, and Minimizer will try
to get the minimum possible score.
o This algorithm applies DFS, so in this game-tree, we have to go all the way
through the leaves to reach the terminal nodes.
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o At the terminal node, the terminal values are given so we will compare those
value and backtrack the tree until the initial state occurs. Following are the
main steps involved in solving the two-player game tree:
Step-1: In the first step, the algorithm generates the entire game-tree and apply the
utility function to get the utility values for the terminal states. In the below tree
diagram, let's take A is the initial state of the tree. Suppose maximizer takes first turn
which has worst-case initial value =- infinity, and minimizer will take next turn which
has worst-case initial value = +infinity.
Step 2: Now, first we find the utilities value for the Maximizer, its initial value is -∞,
so we will compare each value in terminal state with initial value of Maximizer and
determines the higher nodes values. It will find the maximum among the all.
Artificial Intelligence designed to predict rainfall within two hours
o For node D max(-1,- -∞) => max(-1,4)= 4
o For Node E max(2, -∞) => max(2, 6)= 6
o For Node F max(-3, -∞) => max(-3,-5) = -3
o For node G max(0, -∞) = max(0, 7) = 7
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Step 3: In the next step, it's a turn for minimizer, so it will compare all nodes value
with +∞, and will find the 3rd layer node values.
o For node B= min(4,6) = 4
o For node C= min (-3, 7) = -3
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Step 4: Now it's a turn for Maximizer, and it will again choose the maximum of all
nodes value and find the maximum value for the root node. In this game tree, there
are only 4 layers, hence we reach immediately to the root node, but in real games,
there will be more than 4 layers.
o For node A max(4, -3)= 4
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That was the complete workflow of the minimax two player game.
Properties of Mini-Max algorithm:
o Complete- Min-Max algorithm is Complete. It will definitely find a solution (if
exist), in the finite search tree.
o Optimal- Min-Max algorithm is optimal if both opponents are playing
optimally.
o Time complexity- As it performs DFS for the game-tree, so the time
complexity of Min-Max algorithm is O(bm), where b is branching factor of the
game-tree, and m is the maximum depth of the tree.
o Space Complexity- Space complexity of Mini-max algorithm is also similar to
DFS which is O(bm).
Limitation of the minimax Algorithm:
The main drawback of the minimax algorithm is that it gets really slow for complex
games such as Chess, go, etc. This type of games has a huge branching factor, and
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the player has lots of choices to decide. This limitation of the minimax algorithm can
be improved from alpha-beta pruning which we have discussed in the next topic.
Alpha-Beta Pruning
o Alpha-beta pruning is a modified version of the minimax algorithm. It is an
optimization technique for the minimax algorithm.
o As we have seen in the minimax search algorithm that the number of game states it
has to examine are exponential in depth of the tree. Since we cannot eliminate the
exponent, but we can cut it to half. Hence there is a technique by which without
checking each node of the game tree we can compute the correct minimax decision,
and this technique is called pruning. This involves two threshold parameter Alpha
and beta for future expansion, so it is called alpha-beta pruning. It is also called
as Alpha-Beta Algorithm.
o Alpha-beta pruning can be applied at any depth of a tree, and sometimes it not only
prune the tree leaves but also entire sub-tree.
o The two-parameter can be defined as:
a. Alpha: The best (highest-value) choice we have found so far at any point
along the path of Maximizer. The initial value of alpha is -∞.
b. Beta: The best (lowest-value) choice we have found so far at any point along
the path of Minimizer. The initial value of beta is +∞.
o The Alpha-beta pruning to a standard minimax algorithm returns the same move as
the standard algorithm does, but it removes all the nodes which are not really
affecting the final decision but making algorithm slow. Hence by pruning these
nodes, it makes the algorithm fast.
Note: To better understand this topic, kindly study the minimax algorithm.
Condition for Alpha-beta pruning:
The main condition which required for alpha-beta pruning is:
1. α>=β
Key points about alpha-beta pruning:
o The Max player will only update the value of alpha.
o The Min player will only update the value of beta.
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o While backtracking the tree, the node values will be passed to upper nodes instead of
values of alpha and beta.
o We will only pass the alpha, beta values to the child nodes.
Working of Alpha-Beta Pruning:
Let's take an example of two-player search tree to understand the working of Alpha-
beta pruning
Step 1: At the first step the, Max player will start first move from node A where α= -
∞ and β= +∞, these value of alpha and beta passed down to node B where again α=
-∞ and β= +∞, and Node B passes the same value to its child D.
Step 2: At Node D, the value of α will be calculated as its turn for Max. The value of α
is compared with firstly 2 and then 3, and the max (2, 3) = 3 will be the value of α at
node D and node value will also 3.
Step 3: Now algorithm backtrack to node B, where the value of β will change as this
is a turn of Min, Now β= +∞, will compare with the available subsequent nodes
value, i.e. min (∞, 3) = 3, hence at node B now α= -∞, and β= 3.
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In the next step, algorithm traverse the next successor of Node B which is node E,
and the values of α= -∞, and β= 3 will also be passed.
Step 4: At node E, Max will take its turn, and the value of alpha will change. The
current value of alpha will be compared with 5, so max (-∞, 5) = 5, hence at node E
α= 5 and β= 3, where α>=β, so the right successor of E will be pruned, and
algorithm will not traverse it, and the value at node E will be 5.
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Step 5: At next step, algorithm again backtrack the tree, from node B to node A. At
node A, the value of alpha will be changed the maximum available value is 3 as max
(-∞, 3)= 3, and β= +∞, these two values now passes to right successor of A which is
Node C.
At node C, α=3 and β= +∞, and the same values will be passed on to node F.
Step 6: At node F, again the value of α will be compared with left child which is 0,
and max(3,0)= 3, and then compared with right child which is 1, and max(3,1)= 3 still
α remains 3, but the node value of F will become 1.
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Step 7: Node F returns the node value 1 to node C, at C α= 3 and β= +∞, here the
value of beta will be changed, it will compare with 1 so min (∞, 1) = 1. Now at C, α=3
and β= 1, and again it satisfies the condition α>=β, so the next child of C which is G
will be pruned, and the algorithm will not compute the entire sub-tree G.
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Step 8: C now returns the value of 1 to A here the best value for A is max (3, 1) = 3.
Following is the final game tree which is the showing the nodes which are computed
and nodes which has never computed. Hence the optimal value for the maximizer is
3 for this example.
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Move Ordering in Alpha-Beta pruning:
The effectiveness of alpha-beta pruning is highly dependent on the order in which
each node is examined. Move order is an important aspect of alpha-beta pruning.
It can be of two types:
o Worst ordering: In some cases, alpha-beta pruning algorithm does not prune
any of the leaves of the tree, and works exactly as minimax algorithm. In this
case, it also consumes more time because of alpha-beta factors, such a move
of pruning is called worst ordering. In this case, the best move occurs on the
right side of the tree. The time complexity for such an order is O(bm).
o Ideal ordering: The ideal ordering for alpha-beta pruning occurs when lots of
pruning happens in the tree, and best moves occur at the left side of the tree.
We apply DFS hence it first search left of the tree and go deep twice as
minimax algorithm in the same amount of time. Complexity in ideal ordering
is O(bm/2).
Rules to find good ordering:
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Following are some rules to find good ordering in alpha-beta pruning:
o Occur the best move from the shallowest node.
o Order the nodes in the tree such that the best nodes are checked first.
o Use domain knowledge while finding the best move. Ex: for Chess, try order:
captures first, then threats, then forward moves, backward moves.
o We can bookkeep the states, as there is a possibility that states may repeat.
Knowledge-Based Agent in Artificial
intelligence
o An intelligent agent needs knowledge about the real world for taking
decisions and reasoning to act efficiently.
o Knowledge-based agents are those agents who have the capability
of maintaining an internal state of knowledge, reason over that
knowledge, update their knowledge after observations and take actions.
These agents can represent the world with some formal representation
and act intelligently.
o Knowledge-based agents are composed of two main parts:
o Knowledge-base and
o Inference system.
A knowledge-based agent must able to do the following:
o An agent should be able to represent states, actions, etc.
o An agent Should be able to incorporate new percepts
o An agent can update the internal representation of the world
o An agent can deduce the internal representation of the world
o An agent can deduce appropriate actions.
The architecture of knowledge-based agent:
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The above diagram is representing a generalized architecture for a knowledge-based
agent. The knowledge-based agent (KBA) take input from the environment by
perceiving the environment. The input is taken by the inference engine of the agent
and which also communicate with KB to decide as per the knowledge store in KB.
The learning element of KBA regularly updates the KB by learning new knowledge.
Knowledge base: Knowledge-base is a central component of a knowledge-based
agent, it is also known as KB. It is a collection of sentences (here 'sentence' is a
technical term and it is not identical to sentence in English). These sentences are
expressed in a language which is called a knowledge representation language. The
Knowledge-base of KBA stores fact about the world.
Why use a knowledge base?
Knowledge-base is required for updating knowledge for an agent to learn with
experiences and take action as per the knowledge.
Inference system
Inference means deriving new sentences from old. Inference system allows us to add
a new sentence to the knowledge base. A sentence is a proposition about the world.
Inference system applies logical rules to the KB to deduce new information.
Inference system generates new facts so that an agent can update the KB. An
inference system works mainly in two rules which are given as:
o Forward chaining
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o Backward chaining
Operations Performed by KBA
Following are three operations which are performed by KBA in order to show
the intelligent behavior:
1. TELL: This operation tells the knowledge base what it perceives from the
environment.
2. ASK: This operation asks the knowledge base what action it should perform.
3. Perform: It performs the selected action.
A generic knowledge-based agent:
Following is the structure outline of a generic knowledge-based agents program:
1. function KB-AGENT(percept):
2. persistent: KB, a knowledge base
3. t, a counter, initially 0, indicating time
4. TELL(KB, MAKE-PERCEPT-SENTENCE(percept, t))
5. Action = ASK(KB, MAKE-ACTION-QUERY(t))
6. TELL(KB, MAKE-ACTION-SENTENCE(action, t))
7. t=t+1
8. return action
The knowledge-based agent takes percept as input and returns an action as output.
The agent maintains the knowledge base, KB, and it initially has some background
knowledge of the real world. It also has a counter to indicate the time for the whole
process, and this counter is initialized with zero.
Each time when the function is called, it performs its three operations:
o Firstly it TELLs the KB what it perceives.
o Secondly, it asks KB what action it should take
o Third agent program TELLS the KB that which action was chosen.
The MAKE-PERCEPT-SENTENCE generates a sentence as setting that the agent
perceived the given percept at the given time.
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The MAKE-ACTION-QUERY generates a sentence to ask which action should be done
at the current time.
MAKE-ACTION-SENTENCE generates a sentence which asserts that the chosen action
was executed.
Various levels of knowledge-based agent:
A knowledge-based agent can be viewed at different levels which are given below:
1. Knowledge level
Knowledge level is the first level of knowledge-based agent, and in this level, we
need to specify what the agent knows, and what the agent goals are. With these
specifications, we can fix its behavior. For example, suppose an automated taxi agent
needs to go from a station A to station B, and he knows the way from A to B, so this
comes at the knowledge level.
2. Logical level:
At this level, we understand that how the knowledge representation of knowledge is
stored. At this level, sentences are encoded into different logics. At the logical level,
an encoding of knowledge into logical sentences occurs. At the logical level we can
expect to the automated taxi agent to reach to the destination B.
3. Implementation level:
This is the physical representation of logic and knowledge. At the implementation
level agent perform actions as per logical and knowledge level. At this level, an
automated taxi agent actually implement his knowledge and logic so that he can
reach to the destination.
Approaches to designing a knowledge-based agent:
There are mainly two approaches to build a knowledge-based agent:
1. 1. Declarative approach: We can create a knowledge-based agent by initializing
with an empty knowledge base and telling the agent all the sentences with which we
want to start with. This approach is called Declarative approach.
2. 2. Procedural approach: In the procedural approach, we directly encode desired
behavior as a program code. Which means we just need to write a program that
already encodes the desired behavior or agent.
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However, in the real world, a successful agent can be built by combining both
declarative and procedural approaches, and declarative knowledge can often be
compiled into more efficient procedural code.
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