The Big Data Imperative

Big data is the subject of much discussion in the media and in the government today. It has been described as an easy button, when combined with artificial intelligence, to reduce the human role of analysis. Some view this as a potential threat to the democratic order, and by others it is viewed as a lot of hype with few earth-shattering results to show. What is big data, and why is it vital to the future of the intelligence community and combined military operations? In this article, the authors argue that the information revolution has radically changed intelligence by dramatically increasing the number and variety of intelligence collectors. To paraphrase an old quote, you may not be interested in big data, but big data is interested in you. Big data shapes the modern information environment, and through information sharing and access to the cloud, big data is already radically restructuring how analysts access and interpret data.