Divya Mohan (BU): Rethinking Information in Mechanism Design

Rethinking Information in Mechanism Design

Online markets and platforms have transformed the algorithmic landscape into a complex ecosystem of strategic entities. Standard assumptions in mechanism design are too strong to capture the informational challenges present in many real scenarios, from ad auctions where bidders' values depend on competitors' private market data, to resource allocation where there is uncertainty about future demands. In this talk, I will focus on my recent work that tackles three important challenges—uncertain decision making, strategic behavior, and interdependence—by using the lens of approximation.