I think Google's biggest net positives in the world at this point are Waymo and DeepMind. Way better than spending money on new chat apps.

Google's history has been having a very lucrative bottom line that allows for very beneficial research with absolutely no hardships on anyone. Supremely better than lining shareholder pockets; shareholders can't think enough quarters ahead for long-term human benefit. Salaries are just the way to attract and retain quality folks.