They have a lot at stake on both sides of the coin. They need AI to succeed, but not so much that they lose their customer base. Google needs to be especially careful – ain't no advertiser buying up ad space to market to legions of unemployed people.

But, no matter who is behind a study, trust doesn't even begin until replication has occurred.

Seems wise to get out in front of the impending backlash.

Basically all research, on any given topic, is done by people with some kind of stake.