Even if it's not entirely altruistic, I'm glad Big Tech has recognized the tremendous value proposition of dedicating resources to pure unabated research. It's

Even if it's not entirely altruistic, I'm glad Big Tech has recognized the tremendous value proposition of dedicating resources to pure unabated research. It's a cliche example, but the work of Xerox PARC will outlive the work of Xerox; and if the best way to conjure meaningful research is to throw money at the geniuses, then sign me and my pitching arm up. (Note: I don't mean this as a criticism of Google, Microsoft, or Facebook -- as a company committing themselves and publishing research is unequivocally better than one which doesn't.)