Knowledge MaxxingSunset criterion
A sunset criterion is a predefined condition under which a deployed system must be retired, paused, or replaced, decided in advance rather than only in reaction to a crisis.
Prerequisite: Incident reporting
What matters
Deciding retirement conditions ahead of time avoids the difficulty of trying to shut down a system only after harm has already become severe and visible.
Example
A team might set a sunset criterion that a fraud model will be retired if its false-positive rate for any group exceeds a defined threshold for two consecutive months.
Common misconception
A sunset criterion is not the same as an arbitrary expiration date; it's a specific, meaningful condition tied to the system's actual performance or risk.
Recall question
Why is deciding retirement conditions in advance better than deciding only after harm becomes visible?