[bonoboTP]

Yes, also the ERC grants allow quite broad freedom in the EU.

But grants have been annoying for long. Even decades ago the common wisdom, in fields like biology, was to write grant applications promising things you've already done recently, then spend the money on doing something new. But this doesn't work in super fast moving fields like AI/ML where a grant length is an eternity relative to change in the field.

Also the bureaucrats want something sexy at the end, so academics overpromise, then there's a bitter taste among the funders that the super fancy thing didn't materialize, high impact factor publications can sweeten this bitterness somewhat, as can awards etc. Also a rising tide lifts all boats so just by keeping up with SOTA, they can woo the bureaucrats.