PracHub
QuestionsCoachesLearningGuidesInterview Prep
|Home/Machine Learning/Meta

Classify Reviewers Using Bayesian Probability for Accuracy Analysis

Last updated: Mar 29, 2026

Quick Overview

Meta machine learning and Bayesian classification prompt on identifying lazy reviewers from gold-task accuracy, using posterior odds, binomial likelihoods, false-positive and false-negative rates, and large-sample behavior.

  • medium
  • Meta
  • Machine Learning
  • Data Scientist

Classify Reviewers Using Bayesian Probability for Accuracy Analysis

Company: Meta

Role: Data Scientist

Category: Machine Learning

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Onsite

##### Scenario Classifying reviewers as lazy or careful with limited labels ##### Question Propose a classification rule based on P(lazy | data) > 0.5 using Bayes’ theorem. Given the true mixture and review accuracies, derive the false-positive and false-negative rates of this rule. If every reviewer is required to write the same large number of reviews (e.g., 100), how will type I and type II error rates change? ##### Hints Treat reviewer type as the latent class and use a Bayesian optimal decision boundary; error rates shrink as review count grows.

Quick Answer: Meta machine learning and Bayesian classification prompt on identifying lazy reviewers from gold-task accuracy, using posterior odds, binomial likelihoods, false-positive and false-negative rates, and large-sample behavior.

Related Interview Questions

  • Self-Attention: Implementation, Complexity, and Efficient Variants - Meta (hard)
  • Machine Learning Fundamentals: Optimizers, Scaling Laws, and Clustering - Meta (hard)
  • Implement 1NN Embeddings and Forward Pass - Meta (hard)
  • Design and evaluate an ads ranking algorithm - Meta (easy)
  • How would you design a Shop Ads ranking algorithm? - Meta (easy)
|Home/Machine Learning/Meta

Classify Reviewers Using Bayesian Probability for Accuracy Analysis

Meta logo
Meta
Jul 12, 2025, 6:59 PM
mediumData ScientistOnsiteMachine Learning
90
0

Classify Reviewers With Bayesian Probability

You are auditing reviewers who may be lazy or careful. Each reviewer completes n gold-standard review tasks with known ground truth, and you observe k correct reviews.

Assume:

  • P(Lazy) = pi and P(Careful) = 1 - pi .
  • Lazy reviewers have per-review accuracy a_L .
  • Careful reviewers have per-review accuracy a_C , where a_C > a_L .
  • Review outcomes are independent conditional on reviewer type.

Constraints & Assumptions

  • Use Bayes' theorem to derive the posterior probability of being lazy.
  • Propose a rule that classifies a reviewer as lazy when P(Lazy | data) > 0.5 .
  • Derive false-positive and false-negative rates under the true model.
  • Explain how the errors change as each reviewer completes many gold tasks.

Clarifying Questions to Ask

  • Are pi , a_L , and a_C known, estimated, or uncertain?
  • Are the gold tasks representative of real review difficulty?
  • Are the costs of false positives and false negatives equal?
  • Is n the same for every reviewer?

What a Strong Answer Covers

  • Model K | Lazy ~ Binomial(n, a_L) and K | Careful ~ Binomial(n, a_C) .
  • Posterior odds equal prior odds times the likelihood ratio.
  • Classify as lazy when posterior odds exceed 1, equivalently when a log-likelihood-ratio threshold is crossed.
  • Because a_C > a_L , low k values are more evidence of being lazy.
  • False positive rate: P(classify Lazy | Careful) , computed over the binomial distribution under a_C .
  • False negative rate: P(classify Careful | Lazy) , computed over the binomial distribution under a_L .
  • With large n , the two binomial distributions separate, so both Type I and Type II errors usually shrink if assumptions are correct.
  • Practical caveats around task difficulty, correlated errors, estimated parameters, calibration, and unequal costs.

Follow-up Questions

  • How would you change the rule if false positives are much more costly?
  • What if reviewer accuracies vary continuously rather than having two types?
  • How would you estimate a_L and a_C from data?
Loading comments...

Browse More Questions

More Machine Learning•More Meta•More Data Scientist•Meta Data Scientist•Meta Machine Learning•Data Scientist Machine Learning

Write your answer

Your first approved answer each day earns 20 XP.

Sign in to write your answer.
PracHub

Master your tech interviews with 8,500+ real questions from top companies.

Product

  • Questions
  • Learning Tracks
  • Interview Guides
  • Resources
  • Premium
  • For Universities
  • Student Access

Browse

  • By Company
  • By Role
  • By Category
  • Topic Hubs
  • SQL Questions
  • AI Coding Questions
  • Compare Platforms
  • Discord Community

Support

  • support@prachub.com
  • (916) 541-4762

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • About Us

© 2026 PracHub. All rights reserved.