When I reflect on more than three decades spent working at the intersection of law enforcement, national security and technology, I am struck by one observation that has remained remarkably consistent despite extraordinary advances in computing power. The greatest challenges facing investigators have rarely been caused by a lack of information. Rather, they have stemmed from our inability to bring together fragmented information, understand it in context, and transform it into actionable intelligence before the opportunity to act has passed.
That observation has shaped every stage of my career, from founding CopLink, through taking i2 global and later helping IBM develop its vision for Smarter Cities and Safer Planet, to my role today as Chairman of Siren. Although the technology has evolved dramatically during that time, the underlying mission has remained fundamentally unchanged: to provide investigators and analysts with the ability to understand complex operational environments quickly enough to protect communities and save lives.
People frequently ask why, after leaving IBM, I chose to become involved with another company operating within the intelligence and investigative technology sector. My original intention, quite frankly, was not to do so. Having spent many years helping establish i2 as the global standard for intelligence analysis, I believed I had reached the culmination of that particular chapter of my professional life. My focus had shifted towards investment and entrepreneurship, and I had consciously decided not to become involved with organisations attempting to build the next generation of investigative software.
That changed when I was introduced to Siren. As I evaluated the platform, it became increasingly apparent that what I was looking at was not simply another investigative application or another visualisation tool. Instead, I saw the realisation of a vision that had been forming in my own mind for many years, a vision that I had hoped to build but had never fully been able to deliver within previous technology generations.
The important point here is not simply that Siren was capable of processing larger volumes of data. Scale, whilst essential, is only one part of the equation. What immediately impressed me was the platform’s ability to combine enterprise-scale search, advanced graph analytics and, more recently, artificial intelligence into a single operational environment that provides investigators with genuine situational awareness rather than isolated analytical outputs. That distinction is critically important.
For many years our industry has focused on producing better analytical tools. We developed increasingly sophisticated methods for identifying relationships, measuring network centrality, visualising criminal organisations and uncovering hidden connections. These innovations represented significant advances, and I remain immensely proud of the work accomplished during that period. However, analytics alone are no longer sufficient.
Modern investigations require something considerably more ambitious. They require enterprise intelligence, an environment in which hundreds of analysts can collaborate simultaneously across enormous volumes of structured and unstructured information while maintaining a shared understanding of an evolving operational picture. In other words, technology must no longer serve only the individual analyst sitting at a desktop; it must become an operational capability supporting entire organisations as they respond to threats in real time.
It was precisely this evolution that convinced me Siren represented the next chapter in investigative technology rather than simply another competitor within an established market.
I believe we are now entering another equally significant transition, driven by artificial intelligence. Much has been written about AI, and understandably there is considerable excitement surrounding its potential. Yet I believe there is also a great deal of misunderstanding about what artificial intelligence should—and should not—be expected to accomplish within law enforcement and national security.
Throughout my career I have argued that technology should augment human judgement rather than replace it. Artificial intelligence is no exception.
What AI excels at is sensemaking. It can absorb extraordinary volumes of information, identify weak signals that might otherwise remain unnoticed, discover non-obvious relationships and present patterns that would take human analysts days or weeks to uncover. These capabilities have enormous value because they amplify the effectiveness of every investigator, regardless of experience. What AI should never do, however, is make operational decisions.
The responsibility for decisions that affect liberty, public safety or the use of force must always remain with accountable human professionals. For that reason I believe that successful investigative AI must satisfy four fundamental requirements: it must discover, it must predict, it must justify its reasoning transparently, and it must continuously learn from operational outcomes. Without justification, there can be no trust; without trust, there can be no adoption.
Note about Bob Griffin, Chairman of Siren:
Bob Griffin was the founder of Coplink, a groundbreaking public safety technology company that helped transform how law enforcement agencies share and analyse information. Following the merger of Coplink and i2 Group, two of the most significant technology companies in public safety, intelligence, defence and commercial investigations, Bob became CEO of i2 and later led the company through its acquisition by IBM, creating IBM i2, one of the world’s most widely deployed intelligence and law enforcement software platforms.
Throughout his career, Bob has been at the forefront of using technology to help investigators connect information, uncover relationships and make better-informed decisions. He later served as General Manager of IBM “Safer Planet Smarter Cities”, an initiative focused on using data, analytics, and technology to improve public safety and quality of life. He also worked with the Obama Administration to combat Human Trafficking. He has served with organisations such as the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), the National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), and other public safety and national security initiatives.
Today, Bob serves as Chairman of Siren. He is also the Executive Director of the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship and a Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management.
Read more about Bob’s appointment as Chairman of Siren here
