Zero to One_ Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future ( PDFDrive )

computer hybrid approach from PayPal’s security system to identify terrorist
networks and financial fraud. We already knew the FBI was interested, and in
2004 we founded Palantir, a software company that helps people extract insight
from divergent sources of information. The company is on track to book sales of
$1 billion in 2014, and Forbes has called Palantir’s software the “killer app” for
its rumored role in helping the government locate Osama bin Laden.
We have no details to share from that operation, but we can say that neither
human intelligence by itself nor computers alone will be able to make us safe.
America’s two biggest spy agencies take opposite approaches: The Central
Intelligence Agency is run by spies who privilege humans. The National
Security Agency is run by generals who prioritize computers. CIA analysts have
to wade through so much noise that it’s very difficult to identify the most serious
threats. NSA computers can process huge quantities of data, but machines alone
cannot authoritatively determine whether someone is plotting a terrorist act.
Palantir aims to transcend these opposing biases: its software analyzes the data
the government feeds it—phone records of radical clerics in Yemen or bank
accounts linked to terror cell activity, for instance—and flags suspicious
activities for a trained analyst to review.
In addition to helping find terrorists, analysts using Palantir’s software have
been able to predict where insurgents plant IEDs in Afghanistan; prosecute highprofile
insider trading cases; take down the largest child pornography ring in the
world; support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in fighting
foodborne disease outbreaks; and save both commercial banks and the
government hundreds of millions of dollars annually through advanced fraud
detection.
Advanced software made this possible, but even more important were the
human analysts, prosecutors, scientists, and financial professionals without
whose active engagement the software would have been useless.
Think of what professionals do in their jobs today. Lawyers must be able to
articulate solutions to thorny problems in several different ways—the pitch
changes depending on whether you’re talking to a client, opposing counsel, or a
judge. Doctors need to marry clinical understanding with an ability to
communicate it to non-expert patients. And good teachers aren’t just experts in
their disciplines: they must also understand how to tailor their instruction to
different individuals’ interests and learning styles. Computers might be able to
do some of these tasks, but they can’t combine them effectively. Better
technology in law, medicine, and education won’t replace professionals; it will
allow them to do even more.
LinkedIn has done exactly this for recruiters. When LinkedIn was founded in