Abstract
An inaccurate expert can still provide useful information after correction. We study online learning to defer in which the learner chooses an expert and fixes a correction function before purchasing its answer, then applies that function to the answer received. The difficulty is that observed losses reflect both expert quality and an unfinished correction: early errors can discourage queries that would be valuable after learning. We propose ORUCB, which pools shared and expert-specific polynomial responses. A bound on cumulative response-learning error calibrates confidence-weighted risk regression and exploration, allowing the router to account for this error when deciding which answers to buy. Under bounded residuals and disagreements, a fixed feasible model of optimal responses, and linear models of free and optimal queried risk, the calibrated algorithm achieves high-probability pseudo-regret $O(\sqrt T\log(T+1))$ over $T$ rounds for fixed problem parameters. The guarantee permits singular answer distributions and misspecified shared responses; optimality is relative to the bounded response class. On four test streams, the selected cubic policy has lower fee-inclusive cost than seven baselines that deploy answers unchanged. Comparisons with a common correction learner examine routing, while six-price comparisons measure cost and query rates.
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Cite this article
APA 7
Montreuil, Y., Carlier, A., Ng, L. X., & Ooi, W. T. (2026). A Query Is Not a Commitment: Learning to Correct Expert Answers in Online Deferral. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/a-query-is-not-a-commitment-learning-to-correct-expert-answers-in-online-deferral
MLA 9
Montreuil, Yannis, et al. "A Query Is Not a Commitment: Learning to Correct Expert Answers in Online Deferral." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/a-query-is-not-a-commitment-learning-to-correct-expert-answers-in-online-deferral.
Chicago (author–date)
Montreuil, Yannis, Axel Carlier, Lai Xing Ng, and Wei Tsang Ooi. 2026. "A Query Is Not a Commitment: Learning to Correct Expert Answers in Online Deferral." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/a-query-is-not-a-commitment-learning-to-correct-expert-answers-in-online-deferral.
Harvard
Montreuil, Y., Carlier, A., Ng, L. X. and Ooi, W. T. (2026) 'A Query Is Not a Commitment: Learning to Correct Expert Answers in Online Deferral', Available at: https://omanscience.com/en/articles/a-query-is-not-a-commitment-learning-to-correct-expert-answers-in-online-deferral.
Vancouver
Montreuil Y, Carlier A, Ng LX, Ooi WT. A Query Is Not a Commitment: Learning to Correct Expert Answers in Online Deferral. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/a-query-is-not-a-commitment-learning-to-correct-expert-answers-in-online-deferral
IEEE
Y. Montreuil, A. Carlier, L. X. Ng, and W. T. Ooi, "A Query Is Not a Commitment: Learning to Correct Expert Answers in Online Deferral," https://omanscience.com/en/articles/a-query-is-not-a-commitment-learning-to-correct-expert-answers-in-online-deferral.