Calibrated abstention is a system property, not a prompt line. Learn the four abstention signals, the precision-at-coverage framing, and why 'just tell it to say I don't know' fails the interview.
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Build doc-QA for healthcare where a wrong answer is worse than no answer. How do you make it reliably say 'I don't know'?
Calibrated abstention is a system property, not a prompt line. Learn the four abstention signals, the precision-at-coverage framing, and why 'just tell it to say I don't know' fails the interview.
Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Forward Deployed Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.
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