So Google are trying lots of things to improve their search results but don't have the ability to out-think the spammers? That sounds like what you're saying?? Any evidence?

It seems like they know how to improve (their offerings were way better in the past for me) but have moved to optimise for advertising revenue. IMO they've gone too far, they'll crash out of search in the next couple of years and won't be able to backtrack fast enough to keep their users.

Then they won't have cash to burn to fund the other [moonshot?] projects.

It feels like when VCs buy a company, coast on the name whilst stripping away all that made that name bankable; then they eventually run it into the ground, latch on to the next victim and on, and on. Except here Google are leeching off themselves.