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arXiv · 2011.13518

Efficient Information Diffusion in Time-Varying Graphs through Deep Reinforcement Learning

Matheus R. F. Mendonça·André M. S. Barreto·Artur Ziviani
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Abstract

Network seeding for efficient information diffusion over time-varying graphs~(TVGs) is a challenging task with many real-world applications. There are several ways to model this spatio-temporal influence maximization problem, but the ultimate goal is to determine the best moment for a node to start the diffusion process. In this context, we propose Spatio-Temporal Influence Maximization~(STIM), a model trained with Reinforcement Learning and Graph Embedding over a set of artificial TVGs that is capable of learning the temporal behavior and connectivity pattern of each node, allowing it to predict the best moment to start a diffusion through the TVG. We also develop a special set of artificial TVGs used for training that simulate a stochastic diffusion process in TVGs, showing that the STIM network can learn an efficient policy even over a non-deterministic environment. STIM is also evaluated with a real-world TVG, where it also manages to efficiently propagate information through the nodes. Finally, we also show that the STIM model has a time complexity of $O(|E|)$. STIM, therefore, presents a novel approach for efficient information diffusion in TVGs, being highly versatile, where one can change the goal of the model by simply changing the adopted reward function.

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Matheus R. F. Mendonça, André M. S. Barreto, Artur Ziviani. 2020-11-27. Efficient Information Diffusion in Time-Varying Graphs through Deep Reinforcement Learning. https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.13518

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