I don't think its all that sophisticated. The reason Palantir pairs up its services with consultants is that it's not that useful or sophisticated, the consultant's job is to spice it up so it seems like the data and tooling is more valuable than it actually is.

It's the same model as McKinsey etc, the value add is in feeling like you're getting value out of the money you're spending and half of that is being marketed to personally by the consultant and getting glossy presentations, reports, and dashboards.

I thought McKinsey's reason to be was that they sold justification for unpopular decisions management already wants to make.

The reason they pair it with consulting is because:

1. The products are powerful but complex, and were designed by smart, technical people for smart, technical people. They lack some random-person usability.

2. The average client employee isn't that technical.

Source: worked there for 7 years (my views are my own, of course)

Does suspicion require evidence?

I suppose it depends on how the suspicions are impacting one's life and those around them.

If I suspect my wife is cheating on me (without evidence) but keep that suspicion to myself and treat her no differently than before, that might be OK. But if I treat her accordingly and tell her friends, family, and colleagues about my suspicions, that is probably not good!

The average citizen cares about the cost of eggs and not much else.