Why is lambda return type not checked at compile time?

In the first example, MyInterface::getLength and "I am NOT an Integer" helped to resolve the generic parameters T and R to MyInterface and Serializable & Comparable<? extends Serializable & Comparable<?>>respectively.

// it compiles since String is a Serializable
Function<MyInterface, Serializable> function = MyInterface::getLength;
Builder.of(MyInterface.class).with(function, "I am NOT an Integer");

MyInterface::getLength is not always a Function<MyInterface, Integer> unless you explicitly say so, which would lead to a compile-time error as the second example showed.

// it doesn't compile since String isn't an Integer
Function<MyInterface, Integer> function = MyInterface::getLength;
Builder.of(MyInterface.class).with(function, "I am NOT an Integer");