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We introduce a learning framework that combines elements of the well-known PAC and mistake-bound models. The KWIK (knows what it knows) framework was designed particularly for its utility in learning settings where active exploration can impact the training examples the learner is exposed to, as is true in reinforcement-learning and active-learning problems. We catalog several KWIK-learnable classes as well as open problems, and demonstrate their applications in experience-efficient reinforcement learning.

Several algorithms for learning near-optimal policies in Markov Decision Processes have been analyzed and proven efficient. Empirical results have suggested that Model-based Interval Estimation (MBIE) learns efficiently in practice, effectively balancing exploration and exploitation. This paper presents a theoretical analysis of MBIE and a new variation called MBIE-EB, proving their efficiency even under worst-case conditions. The paper also introduces a new performance metric, average loss, and relates it to its less ''online'' cousins from the literature.