The Algorithm Is the Last Decision You Make in Machine Learning

Short summary

An SRE-turned-AI-engineer argues that the hardest part of ML isn't the math but the problem framing upstream: defining the event, the action, the cost of being wrong, and the decision threshold. Uses a real SLA-breach prediction walkthrough to show how answering four operational questions makes algorithm selection trivial. Draws parallels to SRE alerting philosophy.

• •ML difficulty lies upstream of algorithms: event definition, action mapping, cost asymmetry, and threshold decisions
• •SLA breach prediction example shows how framing determines whether a model is useful in production
• •Algorithm selection answers itself once problem framing is settled properly

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