I also find that tone a bit annoying but I'm OK with it because it highlights how these types of bets, without an immediate benefit, can pay off very well in the long term, even for huge companies like Google. AI, as we currently know it, wasn't really a "thing" when Google started with it and the payoff wasn't clear. They've long had to defend their use of their own money for big R&D bets like this and only now is it really clearly "adding shareholder value".
Yes, I know it was a field of interest and research long before Google invested, but the fact remains that they _did_ invest deeply in it very early on for a very long time before we got to this point.
Their continued investment has helped push the industry forward, for better or worse. In light of this context, I'm ok with them taking a small victory lap and saying "we've been here, I told you it was important".
> only now is it really clearly "adding shareholder value".
AI has been adding a huge proportion of the shareholder value at Google for many years. The fact that their inference systems are internal and not user products might have hidden this from you.
Yes, I know it was a field of interest and research long before Google invested, but the fact remains that they _did_ invest deeply in it very early on for a very long time before we got to this point.
Their continued investment has helped push the industry forward, for better or worse. In light of this context, I'm ok with them taking a small victory lap and saying "we've been here, I told you it was important".