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What Would It Take To Recreate Bell Labs?
(hackaday.com)
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this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2024
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Well Google was basically that - it revolutionized search, which made the Internet accessible for casual users
And it worked - Google put more into R&D moon shots than anyone... Except the economic META has changed, and everything innovative just ended up in the Google graveyard before it had a chance to mature
Bell Labs worked because they threw excess piles of money at the best people they could find, and they gave them autonomy. They gave them time, and let them build things with no clear application for their company
Today, that money goes into stock buybacks, executive bonuses, and buying out promising startups. Stock prices this quarter are all that matters, and R&D only raises stock prices when it promises insane growth or quick monetization
And, at least from what I recall, the incentive for bell to toss that excess money into research, is the corporate tax rates were so high it would've been taken from them if not spent anyway.