I don't know how it works. But does 'first to invent' effectively start the clock earlier? If so maybe the public interest is still served. You could presuma

I don't know how it works. But does 'first to invent' effectively start the clock earlier? If so maybe the public interest is still served. You could presumably license the patent soon after its invention and hopefully it's disclosed not-too-terribly-long after that relative to the duration of the patent itself (20 years IIRC). But if it expires sooner now, we can enjoy it royalty-free sooner.