As someone who has been calling for this almost weekly since day 1 on 
(https://steemit.com/beyondbitcoin/@officialfuzzy/guest-signups-beyond-bitcoin-hangout-204-4-21-17-debut-projects-for-a-cut-of-hangout-earnings)
part of me is excited and happy. Upvoted and resteemed.
As someone who can't help but zag, when others zig, I now find myself questioning the desirability of open source in projects that might lead to A.I. (which requires some thinking to see how Steem could, but it can). Here is a paper by Nick Bostrom which explores my concerns, now shared by Elon Musk:
http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/openness.pdf
Not saying this move should or could be reversed, but would like a new discussion going forward.
RE: Steemd is now completely free to use with an MIT License