I don't think it's really their fault. There are not many funding sources and those few that exist are usually coming from big players (companies, governments, etc.), so you are basically forced to pick a side if you want to do research.
It's not like a researcher in engineering or computer science who can start a small collaboration with a local company and solve some optimization problem for them and publish a paper on it.
Yeah but I think most people are equally cautious than when looking at research funded by tobacco companies. I don't really trust researchers who have an agenda.
It's not like a researcher in engineering or computer science who can start a small collaboration with a local company and solve some optimization problem for them and publish a paper on it.