The difference is, though, that in robust optimization you don’t really predict the future. You create an algorithm that you control, which uses some randomness or noisy estimates, and you prove that after enough time you can expect it to wind up somewhere. This is different than straight up giving an estimate of what a single choice will lead to, in a complex non-convex system where you have no control over anything else.
I wouldn’t quite say that. In any sort of multi-period optimization you must model the consequences of actions and are (at least implicitly) predicting something about the future.
Regardless I was mostly gesturing at the intuition, I agree this doesn’t solve the problem.
The difference is, though, that in robust optimization you don’t really predict the future. You create an algorithm that you control, which uses some randomness or noisy estimates, and you prove that after enough time you can expect it to wind up somewhere. This is different than straight up giving an estimate of what a single choice will lead to, in a complex non-convex system where you have no control over anything else.
I wouldn’t quite say that. In any sort of multi-period optimization you must model the consequences of actions and are (at least implicitly) predicting something about the future.
Regardless I was mostly gesturing at the intuition, I agree this doesn’t solve the problem.