I believe that these sorts of demos/disclosures are intended to be soft job adverts-- They're cultivating a reputation of being not only an innovative R&D lab,

I believe that these sorts of demos/disclosures are intended to be soft job adverts-- They're cultivating a reputation of being not only an innovative R&D lab, but one that allows researchers to (sometimes) share results without being buried under a pile of NDAs. These are both things that potential new hires will likely care about a great deal.