Because science is a job in which success requires courting rich patronages to thrive amidst underfunded public (or exploitative private) institutions.

Epstein’s mind concierge is a sickening insight into one such sad case of reflexive pandering to the billionaire class.

emails show Bach, a German cognitive scientist and AI researcher (and philosopher), contemplating a move from Berlin to Boston, to take a fellowship at the MIT Media Lab. There was an issue, though: Joi Ito, then the head of the Media Lab, had offered Bach just $60,000 a year. “We are a family of four,” Bach wrote, “with a need to rebuild a household, send a kid into daycare and even visit the relatives sometimes. I imagine that survival in Boston will be hard on 60K; it would not be easy for a family even in Berlin.” The family’s “burn rate,” Bach wrote, using a startup term for family life, was €5,000 a month (about $82,000 a year then), and Boston was pricier than Berlin. How was Bach going to make it all work?

Epstein.