Part of it is also the research workforce composition. Research students are increasingly people without other good options or who feel like they need to do it

Part of it is also the research workforce composition. Research students are increasingly people without other good options or who feel like they need to do it for status reasons. It is a form of low paid labour that they take in preference to working low status jobs, or moving away from where they are currently living. Of course it is hard for them to take on bold projects, they are too busy trying to survive and ultimately aren’t that interested in the material. The recent protests from UCSC students saying they can’t afford the rent, and the constant blog posts from long suffering adjuncts are classic examples of this - why would anyone put up with these ridiculous arrangements? PIs don’t care about this stuff, they need warm bodies to churn out papers, and the pay is so low it doesn’t matter. This transition is enabled by the massive expansion of university footprint, staffing and student count. The higher degree has become the current generation’s desperate attempt to show they are making progress after the boomers.