Strategic Decision Focused Learning

Machine learning (ML) predictions are increasingly being used to guide decision-making, giving rise to the problem of decision-focused learning (DFL) where predictors are optimized for downstream decision quality rather than accuracy alone. However, existing work assumes a single decision-maker optimizing in isolation. This paper formalizes strategic decision-focused learning, where an ML system predicts an exogenous state that some agents observe before playing a game. For example, a park ranger may predict wildlife locations to allocate anti-poaching patrols against strategic poachers. While the exogenous state is unaffected by agent actions, predictions influence agents' strategies and the resulting equilibrium. We find that strategic considerations fundamentally change the learning problem. In particular, we show the prediction accuracy–equilibrium payoff landscape can be non-monotonic---i.e., better predictions can degrade performance. We propose algorithmic approaches to address these challenges and validate them across benchmarks in wildlife conservation and infrastructure protection. Our theory and experiments highlight the importance of accounting for strategic interactions when designing predictors.