Jason Matheny, director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, has said IARPA has begun efforts to advance predictive analysis through five research initiatives that explore the combinations of machine learning and human judgments, MeriTalk reported Tuesday.
“Ultimately, we think that a combination of analytic tools, machine learning approaches and human judgment are needed for most of the important intelligence questions,†Matheny said at Defense One’s Tech Summit.
He said one of the agency’s programs involved approximately 30,000 analysts who work to generate 5 million predictions on geopolitical events.
Sean Roche, associate deputy director for digital innovation at the CIA, discussed the need to pursue predictive and prescriptive analytics.
Natalie Laing, deputy director of operations at the National Security Agency, noted about how threat actors use data to launch cyber offensive operations and how intelligence agencies can leverage data as a strategic asset.