Will the next 007 be schooled in analytics? Perhaps. The U.S. government is reportedly making a nine-figure investment to better understand how language shapes worldviews with the goal of improving its ability to glean intelligence from non-English speakers. It’s known as IARPA: Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.
In an article on The Atlantic‘s web site, Alexis Madrigal describes a “metaphor project” which it is hoped will allow intelligence agencies to understand the implicit meaning in what is written and said in a wide variety of languages. Madrigal writes:
“A major component of the agency’s work is data mining and analysis. IARPA is split into three program offices with distinct goals: Smart Collection “to dramatically improve the value of collected data from all sources”; Incisive Analysis “to maximize insight from the information we collect, in a timely fashion”; and Safe & Secure Operations “to counter new capabilities implemented by our adversaries that would threaten our ability to operate freely and effectively in a networked world.” The Metaphor Program falls under the office of Incisive Analysis and is headed by the aforementioned McCallum-Bayliss, a former technologist at Lockheed Martin and IBM, who co-filed several patents relating to the processing of names in databases.”
Metaphors are powerful factors in how we process the information we encounter every day. Madrigal cites one study in which participants were given a study on crime in a city. One group received a report in which crime was described as “a virus” and the other a report in which the metaphor was “like a wild beast.” The reactions were consistent within the groups and consistently different between the groups: the “virus” group favored social reform whereas the “beast” group called for stronger law enforcement and punishment.
Companies are just beginning to understand what to do with contextual data like metaphors. If, as is often the case, government research winds up accessible to the private sector the metaphor project could have enormous implications for analytics-driven organizations. Their hierarchy of activity: smart collection, incisive analysis, and effective operational application can serve as a useful guide for how any organization thinks about its approach to and use of data and analytics.
What do you think? Would you like to be on one of the research teams tackling “the metaphor project?”
