A conceptual framework for learning to listen by reward: Curiosity-driven search for novel sources

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new reward-based framework for teaching agents to listen by continuously exploring and discovering novel sound sources, addressing a less-studied area in reinforcement learning.

Contribution

It introduces a conceptual framework for reward-driven listening, emphasizing curiosity and novelty search, along with a proof-of-concept implementation.

Findings

Feasibility of reward-driven exploration for listening demonstrated

Framework highlights open technical challenges

Initial implementation shows potential for audio learning

Abstract

Reinforcement learning is a powerful learning paradigm that has spearheaded progress in numerous domains. Its core promise lies in learning through high-level goals without the need for granular labels. However, it still remains elusive in the realm of audio, where it has received substantially less attention than in computer vision or other domains. The key question remains: how can agents learn to listen purely via reward-driven exploration? In this contribution, we present an overview of previous attempts and a new conceptual framework for learning to listen by reward. Our approach depends on the continuous search for novel sound sources. We formulate our framework, discuss open technical challenges, and present a first proof-of-concept implementation that showcases the feasibility of our approach.