baseline

A model used as a reference point for comparing how well another model (typically, a more complex one) is performing. For example, a logistic regression model might serve as a good baseline for a deep model. For a particular problem, the baseline helps model developers quantify the minimal expected performance that a new model must achieve for the new model to be useful.

Practitioners refer to baseline when building, training, or evaluating machine learning systems. It appears in research papers, product documentation, and technical discussions about AI capabilities and limitations.