I know why the push for smaller sprockets came along, but I agree that 8 tooth is simply to small for the chain to survive for long and may be more of a headache than it is worth.

But, perhaps not, which is why it is being tested.

WEIGHT has very little to do with why sprockets are shrinking, otherwise, the bmx racing world would have done it a long time ago for all the riders. For street, they are (finally) following the flatlanders into realizing that a little more room on the bottom of your bike is a good thing. Even more so for street as coming down a little bit sideways on a smaller sprocket gives it less leverage to bend and break. This was the main reason why things started getting smaller in street for the first time... to many bent and broken sprockets.

The added benefits are the slight weight reduction and clearance when coming over the coping or other obstacles.

I've been running 33/12 since about 1990 or so.