To be fair, China also has an extensive state surveillance apparatus. They just have their military and security agencies run it out in the open at much lower cost. The obfuscation in the US is much more expensive to maintain, but necessary for the illusory veneer of privacy and “freedom.”

This is so fucking true and sad at the same time.

No, it's not true, it's extreme hyperbole spoken with the intent to push a political agenda.

I suppose the researchers at Lawrence National Lab in Berkeley, whose analysis and pre-print replication effort is cited in the linked article, are working with, what, quarter-brains?

Pessimal, clearly those are the full, wrinkly brains.

This assumes everyone's primary motivation is $, which just isn't true. I've known super bright and talent people who gone off to wall street or FAANG for big $, but I've also known equally strong people who turned it down for low 6 figures doing the research they wanted to.

In both cases some are very happy with their choice, others not so much.

I know a super smart PhD who is now a SWE and he would have been ok with the pay, but not the general BS of academia. So even if money isn't the primary motivator, it's still an issue.

Isn't that sort of what I said? For some people the trade off is worth it, some it isn't. Academia BS vs corporate BS is just one of the aspects.

This is incredible hyperbole, completely unprovable, and almost certainly untrue.