Definition
Plain language
A search method that builds up a tree of possible moves by simulating many random rollouts.
As stated in the literature
Monte Carlo Tree Search, a heuristic search algorithm that incrementally builds a tree of actions via simulated rollouts and propagates their results.
Why it matters: It's a flexible way to combine learned value estimates with simulation, and it underlies many of the most successful game-playing and planning systems.
For example, an MCTS-based Go program explores promising lines by playing thousands of random games from each candidate move and seeing which leads to the most wins.
Heard on the show
“The search is Monte Carlo Tree Search — MCTS — the algorithm famous from Go engines.”Episode 177 — Why Raw Profiler Data Made an AI Worse at Writing GPU Code