A random utility function will do fine, iff the agent has perfect knowledge.
Imagine, if you will a stabber, something that wants to turn the world into things that have been stabbed. If it knows that stabbing itself will kill itself, it will know to stab itself last. If it doesn’t know know that stabbing itself will lead to it no longer being able to stab things, then it may not do well in actually achieving its stabbing goal by stabbing itself too early.
A random utility function will do fine, iff the agent has perfect knowledge.
Imagine, if you will a stabber, something that wants to turn the world into things that have been stabbed. If it knows that stabbing itself will kill itself, it will know to stab itself last. If it doesn’t know know that stabbing itself will lead to it no longer being able to stab things, then it may not do well in actually achieving its stabbing goal by stabbing itself too early.