AI & ML
Online Fair Division with Frequency Predictions
arXiv cs.MA0 views
arXiv:2610.34625v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: We study online fair division of indivisible goods among $n$ agents with frequency predictions: before any good arrives, the algorithm learns the multiset of each agent's values for the goods, but neither the arrival order nor which values of different agents belong to the same good. Neoh et al. (ICML 2026) showed that such predictions allow every share-based guarantee that is achievable offline, and left open whether a positive approximation of envy-freeness up to one good (EF1) is possible. We show that deterministic online algorithms can guarantee $1/2$-EF1 for three agents and $(3-\sqrt5)/2$-EF1 for four agents, whereas for five or more agents, no online algorithm can guarantee any positive approximation of EF1, even with $n+1$ goods and identical predictions. Together with the known result for two agents, a positive approximation of EF1 is therefore possible if and only if $n\leq4$. We also rule out any positive approximation of EFX for three or more agents, even when the valuations take only two distinct positive values. Next, we use the meta-algorithm of Neoh et al. (ICML 2026) to compute an epistemic EFX (EEFX) allocation in polynomial time for any $n$, and hence a $1/(n-1)$-EF$(n-2)$ allocation for $n\geq3$, whereas algorithms that fix a picking sequence in advance can guarantee a positive approximation of EF$k$ if and only if $n\leq k+2$. Finally, for noisy predictions, we give algorithms that return EEFX allocations when the predictions are exact, and guarantee $(1-2\varepsilon+O(\varepsilon^2))$-EEFX under underestimates and, for $n\geq3$, $(1-2(n-1)\varepsilon+O(\varepsilon^2))$-EEFX under overestimates; the linear terms are the best possible, and larger overestimates rule out any positive approximation for such algorithms.
Source:https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.34625PreviousAgentic AI Orchestration Framework for Spatial Intelligence: Supply Chain DeploymentNextSlowLab: Benchmarking Autonomous AI Agents on a Year of Experiments They Cannot Undo
Related posts
Introducing the Grid Protectors Program
0OpenAI Blog
The world has a new plan to save nature, but it still needs the money
0Ars Technica

Could data center backlash flip Florida?
0The Verge

Vivo’s first Pro Max phone proves its Ultra is still in a league of its own
0The Verge

Why Peacock is making a huge bet on YouTube
0The Verge
Ninja’s first-ever microwave just replaced two of my kitchen appliances at once
0TechCrunch