[Kalium]

Without google's recaptcha, do you think there would be less spam?

Personally, I suspect there would be more without at least some speed bumps to raise the cost of spamming. I would absolutely love for there to be better options than recaptcha that meets the same needs around bot-detection, price, implementation effort, and accessibility. It is, sadly, the best option I've seen on offer.

You're right. The scenario we're in is incredibly sad. It would be wonderful if the individual actors involved had better options to meet their needs.