In the big picture, these projects are really about attention-grabbing, not necessarily researching products. They are supposed to create mixed, intense emotio

In the big picture, these projects are really about attention-grabbing, not necessarily researching products. They are supposed to create mixed, intense emotions, questions, dialog, and above all sublime awe. The function of this work is to control the dialog, to communicate that this organization is the nexus of the future to bring in money to survive and expand. Many famous academic programs and large companies do this. After generating the anxiety, the lab pairs it with intimate access to the research labs in the form of sponsorship, partnering and other ways of reciprocating. Essentially, the labs establish themselves as the alpha dog in the system. You may be afraid of what's coming, but at least you can look to them to understand it. It all breaks down when you start to realize the same people creating the stress are the ones you offer to relieve it, not by slaying it, but by cutting you in on the deal. And it's always difficult to interpret because the tech itself is 1st class, so the artisan class is awed and jealous, so they want to be part of it. Meanwhile, most of those critical of technology sound like complete wankers who want us all playing homemade instruments around a campfire eating raw seaweed. And Chris and Sal Average Family is still cheering for U.S. space dominance as conditioned by the space program since its inception, so they're rooting for technological progress in the form of narcotizing Narcissism (as described by McLuhan). Sorry if I'm a downer, but I have been part of this system in the past and now I'm on in the edge in and out of it and I study lots of philosophy and media theory. This is how this system survives.