Terry's point is that rather than being a "dead end" as people would blithely tell him, SHRDLU is actually /exactly/ the kind of computer program that is meaningful to write.
Its behaviour is both deliberate and mindbogglingly complex (barely fitting in Winograd's head). His argument is that each computer program should be as intricate and expansive a contribution to the world as possible at the periphery of the author's ability.
Not get-rich-quick-scheme style learning and crunching.