> It’s so sad that the only way innovation can happen is if it’s funded by the government.
Governments fund a massive percentage of the foundational work that is necessary for productizable innovations, that precedes it by decades. Private companies rarely fund this type of work.
Take AI. All of the current models are descendants of the work of Geoff Hinton. He labored for decades in academic obscurity, when AI was a punchline. It was only after these decades of government support did he get a result interesting enough for Google to hire him.
There are countless other examples like this, lithium batteries, GPS, the Internet. GLP-1 drugs came from the study of gila monsters.
Governments fund a massive percentage of the foundational work that is necessary for productizable innovations, that precedes it by decades. Private companies rarely fund this type of work.
Take AI. All of the current models are descendants of the work of Geoff Hinton. He labored for decades in academic obscurity, when AI was a punchline. It was only after these decades of government support did he get a result interesting enough for Google to hire him.
There are countless other examples like this, lithium batteries, GPS, the Internet. GLP-1 drugs came from the study of gila monsters.