Alpha (machine learning)

Alpha (α) is a parameter used in artificial intelligence to specify how much weight will be given to new information. An alpha value might be expressed in the range between 0 and 1. A value of 0 means that the agent completely ignores any new information, while a value of 1 means it only remembers the latest piece of information.

A typical equation detailing the weighting role of alpha might be:

new_policy = (historical_data * (1 - α)) + (new_data * α)

It is used in Q-learning.