UbuntuWorld 1.0 LTS - A Platform for Automated Problem Solving & Troubleshooting in the Ubuntu OS

TL;DR

UbuntuWorld 1.0 LTS is a platform that uses reinforcement learning and online forum data to develop automated troubleshooting agents for the Ubuntu OS, serving as a test bed for research.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel platform integrating RL and online support data for automated Ubuntu troubleshooting, enabling research and development of support agents.

Findings

Reinforcement learning improves troubleshooting efficiency.

Integration of online forum data enhances agent learning.

Platform supports plug-and-play evaluation of different agents.

Abstract

In this paper, we present UbuntuWorld 1.0 LTS - a platform for developing automated technical support agents in the Ubuntu operating system. Specifically, we propose to use the Bash terminal as a simulator of the Ubuntu environment for a learning-based agent and demonstrate the usefulness of adopting reinforcement learning (RL) techniques for basic problem solving and troubleshooting in this environment. We provide a plug-and-play interface to the simulator as a python package where different types of agents can be plugged in and evaluated, and provide pathways for integrating data from online support forums like AskUbuntu into an automated agent's learning process. Finally, we show that the use of this data significantly improves the agent's learning efficiency. We believe that this platform can be adopted as a real-world test bed for research on automated technical support.