R&D costs a lot, but mass producing a robot is quicker and less costly than mass producing & training animals. They also use different resources, so there is a strategic advantage in the ability to use which resources are most plentiful.

OP's use of the word tolerable makes it obvious that OP is not focused on how to use Javascript, but instead is focused on the hurdles of change. Fact is Javascript is not a hard language to use, and looks mostly identical to Java. That's not the problem and the OP knows it. The problem is the OP wants to do something the Java/C/C++ way as opposed to just doing it. I call this mindset hacker-bushido. So OP, you might have spent years practicing the precise way to cut a piece of bamboo with a sword, but now you're using a spear. Don't focus on using the spear the way you learned to use a sword, just kill people with it.

Taking a picture is taking a picture. 50 years ago they took great pictures with much lower quality hardware and technology than there is today. Thus the art of photography is the shot which you take, not the camera you take it with. So I'm all for MILCs. As a category they are in my opinion the best compromise between utility and portability currently available. I have an Olympus PEN E-PL1 with a general purpose lens and a superzoom lens. Its smaller and lighter than my old prosumer camera, with better controls and low light quality. Works great. I'd say try the different MILCs and pick the one you like the best. I liked the Olympus and Sony ones best personally. The Panasonics and Olympuses share the Micro Four-Thirds lens system, so they both get a wider variety of lenses, which is nice. If I were doing it over, I'd honestly just go for another E-PL1 at $280 new. The newer versions are better but not worth the extra $ in my opinion.