Has there ever been a case of a company the size of SO deciding that, given their skills and culture, they’re just going to wind the company down rather than try and compete in a new technical arena that they’re entirely unsuited for? I’d respect that.

I don’t know if what he’s suggesting here makes sense (I tend to think no), but I’m automatically a little skeptical of the typical response to a serious threat: “no way, y’all, this is actually good for us!”

Imagine google coming out right now and saying the future of AI is search ads.