Firstly, just wondering if Google has An official statement or policy on article spinning?

I suspect it's a no no, since it's not actually providing new content that is more useful than the original.

However I have a possible argument in favour of it.

Let's say you are writing three variations of each sentence in an article. For basic sentences, simply rewrite them in another interesting way. However where the article has examples, metaphores and similies, one could provide entirely different unique ones based on the audience.

For example, if the article is about insurance, and there are two different audiences, one is automotive and the other is estate, the writer could provide an example/metaphore/simile specific to his/her audience. I'll give it a go now:

"Insurance is a bit like the lock on your door, it keeps you safe."

"Insurance protects you like the alarm in your car."

A generated version could not however be random. Most sentences could be random, however the target specific sentences are specific.

The argument then is that this form of article spinning is generating better targeted content based on the audience.

If anyone is interested in giving it a go, let me know. I'd be happy to do the writing as a trial or case study.