I'm Meredith and I'm a Deployment Strategist at Palantir. During my time as an active duty
Air Force Officer, I saw firsthand how hard it is to navigate the fog of war.
Over the past 20 years we've been focused on a counter-insurgency fight, and all that time our
near-peer rivals have observed our actions, learned our capabilities, and grown bolder.
[Voiceover of multiple news headlines] Now that the focus is shifting to great power competition,
the real question is: Can we deter the next great war?
As a notional example, an escalation could start with something as simple as the Chinese military
conducting a routine exercise in the South China Sea to see the full picture and make tactical
operational and strategic decisions, the US and Allied forces rely on Palantir. Monitoring the
exercise, AI models running on satellite data detect an increased level of military activity
to the north. Ship detection models identify an alarming buildup of fishing vessels
surrounding a major taiwanese port. An activity model detects that many of those ships are tied
together suggesting an ulterior motive and increasing the risk of a blockade.
The US maintains a national interest in free trade throughout the South China Sea,
and as an island only 90 miles off the coast of mainland China. Taiwan is especially reliant
on freedom of navigation through international waters. This free trade is particularly critical
given that Taiwan produces 80 percent of the world's semiconductors. The device you're watching
this on today almost certainly relies on these parts, any disruption could be disastrous. So
as the team watches closely with partner nations, a new alert comes in from Japanese intelligence.
The Chinese Lu Yang destroyer has gone dark and isn't showing up on intelligence feeds.
The ship had previously been docked at a southern naval base
but AI models detect that it's now missing.
Gotham fuses data from multiple sources to project likely pass for the Lu Yang.
The most dangerous routes head east towards both the military exercise and the mounting tensions
outside the Taiwanese port. The analyst identifies a key fork to monitor between the routes.
To collect more imagery, machine learning models built by academic and commercial partners run on
data across all domains. The models determined that satellite coverage alone is not enough
to find the ship. Based on what is capable and ready the system recommends a few alternatives.
The best option is an aircraft from Okinawa. Before finalizing this selection analysts
deploy the latest micro models trained to avoid incoming threats, identify military equipment,
and detect military ships. The unmanned aircraft receives its mission and prepares
for takeoff. Time is ticking and they need to find the ship quickly as the aircraft departs.
Video streams back to headquarters in real time. A ship identification model detects the dimensions,
speed, and weapon system of the destroyer headed north.
An analyst back in the operations center verifies the detection which confirms the Lu Yang is on
the most dangerous path and is only a few hours away from the potential blockade. The commander
is briefed on the fast developing situation and examines several human and machine-generated
courses of action that have been jointly tested and developed in past exercises and simulations.
The first option involves sending reinforcements to a nearby base which may take too long. The
second option is to send a manned aircraft over the fishing vessels which could introduce
unnecessary risk. The third option is a freedom of navigation operation which means positioning an
American or Allied ship closer to the developing situation. This option appears to have the highest
probability of success with the lowest risk. Joint forces decide to task an American ship. Once the
choice is selected a task order is submitted and the American ship quickly alters course.
The team watches closely as the operation progresses and as the American ship approaches
the fishing vessel, the blockade begins to disband and the lu yang continues north without incident.
While this example was notional, events like these happen more often than you realize and one
wrong move could put millions at risk. In these situations,
Palantir Gotham provides those who protect our values
with the technology to make decisions at speed, and in the process, makes the world a safer place.