601.436/636 Algorithmic Game Theory - Spring 2022

Instructor: Michael Dinitz
Lecture: T Th 4:30 - 5:45 pm, Shaffer 301. Online at Zoom meeting ID 974 3407 5512.
Office Hours: Tuesday 9:30 - 10:30am, and by appointment. In-person preferred, online at Zoom meeting ID 987 3585 7917

Teaching Assistant: Ama Koranteng
Office Hours: by appointment

Syllabus

Course Description: This course provides an introduction to algorithmic game theory: the study of games from the perspective of algorithms and theoretical computer science. There will be a particular focus on games that arise naturally from economic interactions involving computer systems (such as economic interactions between large-scale networks, online advertising markets, etc.), but there will also be broad coverage of games and mechanisms of all sorts. Topics covered will include a) complexity of computing equilibria and algorithms for doing so, b) (in)efficiency of equilibria, and c) algorithmic mechanism design. Students may receive credit for 601.436 or 601.636, but not both. Pre-req: 601.433/633 or permission.

Textbooks: Online Discussion Group: Campuswire. Join using this link and code 1041.

Schedule

The following is a tentative schedule. As the class proceeds, there will likely be changes and modifications.

  
Date Topic Reference Notes
 Jan 25   Introduction. What is AGT? Basic Game Theory   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 1    
 Jan 27   Two-Player Zero-sum Games   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapters 1.4.2, 3.1, 3.2   HW1 released 
 Feb 1   Algorithms for Two-Player Games: Lemke-Howson   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapters 2.3, 3.2 - 3.6 
 Feb 3   Hardness of Computing Nash: PPAD   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 20, NRTV Chapters 2.1 - 2.6 
 Feb 8   Potential Games and PNE; Hierarchy of Equilibria   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 13, NRTV Chapter 1.3    
 Feb 10   No-Regret and Coarse Correlated Equilibria   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 17, NRTV Chapters 4.1-4.4   HW1 due, HW2 released 
 Feb 15   No-Regret and Equilibria (continued)   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapters 17, 18, NRTV Chapters 4.1-4.4 
 Feb 17   No-Swap-Regret and Correlated Equilibria   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 18, NRTV Chapters 4.4, 4.5 
 Feb 22   Introduction to Inefficiency of Equilibria   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapter 17    
 Feb 24   Nonatomic Routing Games   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 11, NRTV Chapters 18.1, 18.2.1, 18.3.1, 18.4.1   HW2 due, HW3 released 
 Mar 1   Atomic Routing Games, Smooth Games   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapters 12, 14, NRTV Chapter 18 
 Mar 3   Facility Location Game   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 14.2, NRTV Chapter 19.4 
 Mar 8   Connection Game, Strong Nash   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 15, NRTV Chapter 19.3 
 Mar 10   Load Balancing   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapter 20   HW3 due, HW4 released 
 Mar 15   Introduction to Mechanism Design   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 2, NRTV Chapters 9.1, 9.3.1, 9.3.2, 9.3.5    
 Mar 17   Single-Parameter Environments (Myerson's Lemma)   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 3, NRTV Chapters 9.5.4, 9.5.5 
 Mar 22   No class - Spring Break       
 Mar 24   No class - Spring Break    
 Mar 29   Knapsack Auctions and the Revelation Principle   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 4, NRTV Chapters 9.4.3, 12.1, 12.2    
 Mar 31   Revenue Maximizing Auctions   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 5, NRTV Chapters 13.1, 13.2   HW4 due, HW5 released 
 Apr 5   "Simple" Auctions and Bulow-Klemperer   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 6    
 Apr 7   VCG and General Mechanism Design   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Roughgarden Chapter 7, NRTV Chapter 9.3.3    
 Apr 12   Combinatorial Auctions I   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapters 11.1, 11.2    
 Apr 14   Combinatorial Auctions II   Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapter 11.3   HW5 due, HW6 released 
 Apr 19   Mechanisms Without Money   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapters 10.3, 10.4, Roughgarden Chapters 9.4, 10    
 Apr 21   Online Auctions   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, Slides from Maryland, NRTV Chapter 16.1 - 16.3.    
 Apr 26   Voting Schemes and Social Choice   Lecture Notes, Lecture Board, Video, NRTV Chapter 9.2    
 Apr 28   Voting Schemes and Social Choice II   Lecture Board, Video   HW6 due 

Assignments

Please submit homeworks using Gradescope. You can sign up with entry code D5NJDJ.

Project Information

This class will have a final project, whose exact form is flexible and mostly up to you, subject to approval by the instructor.

Additional Resources

Some texts that are related to topics we will cover. They are useful for further study in this field. Similar courses with nice notes.