Before we get too excited, how much of that R&D funding is on which color of button makes you most likely to click “Buy Now”?

    • Bestaa@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      You’re not wrong, but R+D is mostly another operating expense which lowers net income. Net income is what’s taxed. Companies could spend this money on building another office or salaries for sales staff instead which would both lower net income.

      Some jurisdictions may have special tax considerations for narrowly defined R+D work, but it’s mostly companies spending money to try and make more money. Sometimes that pans out and other times it doesn’t.

  • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
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    10 months ago

    The heck is Amazon researching? I’ve run into CS articles / whitepapers / etc from eg. Microsoft-affiliated researchers (especially in programming language stuff), but can’t remember ever seeing anything from Amazon. Probably just means I’m not reading papers from the right field / subfield

      • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
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        10 months ago

        Right, it’s pretty clear some of it is probably something related to AWS but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did research into things like supply chain management.

        I went and did some searching and found https://www.amazon.science/, and it looks like my guess of either AWS or supply chain management was pretty good since I can find articles on both on there 😀

      • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
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        10 months ago

        Huh, I’m severely out of the loop on all these new space ventures, I’d never even heard of it (and it’s not even all that new, ~5 years 😅 )

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      AI. Data sciences. Marketing. how to build a more realistic looking android body. Was “Zuck the Cuck” an insult?

  • Trashcan@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    It’s a false comparison. Government are not trying to be innovative. They said but trying to invent new form of governing the state.

    At best, a restructure of a department is an RnD for a state. Hell, even elections could be considered RnD…

    Does Pepsi taste better Tesla? Who knows?

    • CombatWombatEsq@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      It’s comparing to the R&D budgets of all companies AND government in France to Amazon. Presumably the companies are trying to be innovative.