Not funding because it doesn't translate into a product is exactly why google is dead.
What did you think Google, a company, was doing before? Their moonshot projects are all products, they're just products that are an enormous financial risk to make. They're not a research group with infinite funding, no matter how much we want them to be that.
And it is likely that it is near impossible to know if a product will become a moonshot without knowing the future. Once you start killing projects because they "wont make profit" you stop being a company that pushes the border, and become one that is happy to remain inside of those borders.Their moonshot projects are all products, they're just products that are an enormous financial risk to make.
...and one that is going to make sense. I'm not saying they should kill everything that doesn't go in the black soon, but I am saying that Google is still a company, not a charity. They didn't kill their AI department - only the part that makes specific humanoid robots. Google is much better at doing the software side, letting someone else figure out the hardware and logistical challenges. Case in point: Google car, Android, every Google app ever. I see this more as Google focusing on where they can innovate the most. Which at the end of the day means they can push more borders and get more done, just not in the humanoid hardware business but in other things like AI.Once you start killing projects because they "wont make profit" you stop being a company that pushes the border, and become one, and become one that is happy to remain inside of those borders