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Original · left

Real life

First in use: the 1990s
Duplicate · right

Reinforcement learning

First in use: the 1980s

RL / Real life / Reinforcement learning

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
Last crossover—
Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Internet slang vs. reward-maximizing agents.

Which meaning of RL is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Real life came first (the 1990s). Reinforcement learning arrived in the 1980s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Real lifeReinforcement learning
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · the 1990s

Real life

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12-mo pageviews—
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Duplicate · the 1980s

Reinforcement learning

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More duplicated terms

AI & machine learning