moc · ai-engineering

AI Engineering Map

01 Maps/AI Engineering Map.md

AI Engineering Map

Core ideas

  • Tokens and context windows
  • Embeddings and semantic search
  • Sampling, temperature, and structured output
  • Tool calling and agent loops
  • Retrieval-augmented generation
  • Evaluation datasets and graders
  • Latency, cost, caching, and fallbacks
  • Safety, privacy, prompt injection, and data boundaries

Build loop

flowchart LR A[Define task and success] --> B[Create representative evals] B --> C[Build simplest prompt or workflow] C --> D[Measure failures] D --> E[Improve context, tools, or model] E --> C

Durable principles

  • Start with a measurable task, not a fashionable architecture.
  • Treat prompts, tools, model choice, and retrieved context as versioned code.
  • Separate trusted instructions from untrusted content.
  • Require evidence for claims that affect users or irreversible actions.
  • Evaluate on realistic edge cases before optimizing average performance.

Related

Knowledge connections