I agree that this is worrisome! At the same time, I would like to flag that academic researchers aren’t necessarily free from corporate influence either. Arguably, many technology companies fund academic research in order to shape the research agenda pursued in academia. To mention one example, one might argue that big technology companies are funding so much research about the ethics of artificial intelligence because this ultimately makes policymakers less likely to legally restrict the deployment of controversial technologies (cf. https://theintercept.com/2019/12/20/mit-ethical-ai-artificial-intelligence).
I agree that this is worrisome! At the same time, I would like to flag that academic researchers aren’t necessarily free from corporate influence either. Arguably, many technology companies fund academic research in order to shape the research agenda pursued in academia. To mention one example, one might argue that big technology companies are funding so much research about the ethics of artificial intelligence because this ultimately makes policymakers less likely to legally restrict the deployment of controversial technologies (cf. https://theintercept.com/2019/12/20/mit-ethical-ai-artificial-intelligence).