that's actually absolutely correct :) academia is best at doing things that are not directly marketable in the capitalist economy. in the early 1900s, a group of weirdos working on theoretical quantum mechanics couldn't find marketable jobs in industry of the day, so they had to do their work in academia. thanks to them, you have your iPhone now.
That's actually the crux of the issue here. In the past AI research didn't have any commercial value, and now it does. So universities and departments are having to deal with new competition, and they'll have to adjust various forms of compensation as a result.
The article talks about "stars", which implies quality over quantity. They probably already crank out too many infinitesimal-delta-thesis guys who are smart but not brilliant.
