Definition
Plain language
What an object lets you do with it — a handle affords pulling, a button affords pressing.
As stated in the literature
The action possibilities an object or environment offers an agent; robot play is bounded by the affordances its simulator contains, and agents can fail by hallucinating affordances that don't exist.
Also called: affordances
Why it matters: An agent that misreads what objects let it do will reach for handles that aren't there and fail at otherwise simple tasks.
For example, a doorknob affords turning while a flat push-plate affords pushing, and we read those possibilities at a glance.
Heard on the show
“So "RL teaches better integration of retrieved text" is exactly the affordance the benchmark rewards.”Episode 011 — When RL Actually Teaches Agents Something New, And When It Doesn't