The project formally know as the Knowledge Engine was frequently referred to as a "moon shot" in November 2015 by a number of my fellow board members. This terminology I believe accurately highlighted the size, expense, and risk that this proposal was.
How we have described the KE to our movement has been significantly different. All efforts appear to be to minimize what was proposed. And efforts to explain it at all have only occurred after greater community understanding became inevitable.
I find it disappointing to see the ED and some board members try to deny and downplay the plans that previously existed. While the ED has recently apologized for the lack of transparency, this was brought to her attention many times before, and thus I am not convinced her apology will result in a change in her approach.