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Does it? I picked the first professor from MIT's CSAIL group (Hal Abelson), found their latest published paper (https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/irrodl/2022-v

Does it? I picked the first professor from MIT's CSAIL group (Hal Abelson), found their latest published paper (https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/irrodl/2022-v23-n1-irrodl06775/1086460ar/ https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/irrodl/2022-v23-n1-irrodl...) and found that they are funded by a Chinese governmental organization. Tell me how the research isn't being influenced by the needs and desires of the funder?

yodon 4y ago
MIT CSAIL is not hard up for funding, nor is Hal Abelson. They can choose who they want to take money from. Funding sources that restrain a researcher's ability to publish damage that researcher's ability to advance their own career. Many people here on HN have, for example, an irrational hatred and distrust of Microsoft. Microsoft Research, however is one of the biggest sources of computer science research funding in the world. If MSR funds you, they expect your work to result in publications and the primary factor in whether you get additional funding is whether your papers impact your field. Those characteristics make MSR funding highly desirable, precisely because it comes with no strings attached.
- leephillips 4y ago
  “Many people here on HN have, for example, an irrational hatred and distrust of Microsoft”. Perhaps. Many people here on HN also have an entirely rational hatred and distrust of Microsoft. Some of those people are also capable of appreciating their support for research.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - 0des 4y ago
    > Many people here on HN also have an entirely rational hatred and distrust of Microsoft. Some of those people are also capable of appreciating their support for research. I am standing right here, you dont have to point.
dekhn 4y ago
Taiwan governmental organization (note, the coauthor who received the funding works in Taiwan). Details matter- Taiwan and China are two completely different entities.
- guhidalg 4y ago
  I agree Taiwan and China are different entities, looking at the acknowledgement of the paper: "This study was supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology under contract numbers MOST 108-2511-H-003 -056 -MY3 and by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust". I read Hong Kong and assumed it was China.

yodon 4y ago

MIT CSAIL is not hard up for funding, nor is Hal Abelson. They can choose who they want to take money from. Funding sources that restrain a researcher's ability to publish damage that researcher's ability to advance their own career. Many people here on HN have, for example, an irrational hatred and distrust of Microsoft. Microsoft Research, however is one of the biggest sources of computer science research funding in the world. If MSR funds you, they expect your work to result in publications and the primary factor in whether you get additional funding is whether your papers impact your field. Those characteristics make MSR funding highly desirable, precisely because it comes with no strings attached.

leephillips 4y ago
“Many people here on HN have, for example, an irrational hatred and distrust of Microsoft”. Perhaps. Many people here on HN also have an entirely rational hatred and distrust of Microsoft. Some of those people are also capable of appreciating their support for research.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- 0des 4y ago
  > Many people here on HN also have an entirely rational hatred and distrust of Microsoft. Some of those people are also capable of appreciating their support for research. I am standing right here, you dont have to point.

dekhn 4y ago

Taiwan governmental organization (note, the coauthor who received the funding works in Taiwan). Details matter- Taiwan and China are two completely different entities.

guhidalg 4y ago
I agree Taiwan and China are different entities, looking at the acknowledgement of the paper: "This study was supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology under contract numbers MOST 108-2511-H-003 -056 -MY3 and by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust". I read Hong Kong and assumed it was China.