Thanks for laying these out. I have to be honest: I don’t think these examples justify the current scale of investment.
A backyard bird-feeder optimisation study isn’t remotely proportional to the millions deployed so far, nor to the moral stakes that originally motivated WAI’s existence.
The rodent fertility control pathway sounds more promising, but again: a best-case 4–7 year pathway if funding materialises, if the competition succeeds, and if a viable product emerges.
If these are the strongest examples of expected real-world impact this decade, then that reinforces my original concern: the current spend-to-impact ratio looks extremely low, and the strategic timeline still feels unanchored.
Thanks for laying these out. I have to be honest: I don’t think these examples justify the current scale of investment.
A backyard bird-feeder optimisation study isn’t remotely proportional to the millions deployed so far, nor to the moral stakes that originally motivated WAI’s existence.
The rodent fertility control pathway sounds more promising, but again: a best-case 4–7 year pathway if funding materialises, if the competition succeeds, and if a viable product emerges.
If these are the strongest examples of expected real-world impact this decade, then that reinforces my original concern: the current spend-to-impact ratio looks extremely low, and the strategic timeline still feels unanchored.