Right, but we have no data on this theory right now. Wouldn't it make more sense to start at a small-scale and validate that it's even possible that it works?

Right, but we have no data on this theory right now. Wouldn't it make more sense to start at a small-scale and validate that it's even possible that it works? What if they spend the money to do a 5-year study and find that all participants are massively irresponsible with the money and that BI would be a disaster of a social policy? Why commit to a 45-year experiment when we have no data right now? The scientists working on nuclear fission aren't saying: "Let's give up because we can't build a commercial scale energy positive reactor". They're saying: "Let's make progress one small-step at a time on a path that gets us there eventually".