I think Google talks a good game, but in reality, they haven't done much other than take out the obvious.
I think paid links is a bit of a red herring. Google are pushing more into personalized tracking, which is an area that will really tell them what they want to know:
Which content is the most relevant/popular with Google users
http://blog.v7n.com/2007/04/19/googl...h-web-history/
The submission form is pure theater. It is already, no doubt, flooded with webmasters reporting gibberish.