AI engineering glossary · AI ethics law product
What is shadow mode?
Shadow mode (also called shadow deployment): Running a new model on real traffic in the background, without showing its outputs to users, so its predictions can be compared against the current system or human decisions. It shows real-world performance before any user is affected.
Shadow mode: an example
A new fraud model scores every transaction silently for two weeks while analysts compare its flags with the live system's.
Related terms
- Online evaluation
- Canary release
- A/B test
- Post-market monitoring
More AI ethics law product terms
- SHAP
- Significant Data Fiduciary
- Transparency (AI)
- Trust calibration
- Verifiable parental consent
- Watermarking AI outputs
- Accountability (AI)
- Activation rate
Where you learn it
Shadow mode is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.