This seems like a pretty scummy way to do "research". I mean I understand that people in academia are becoming increasingly disconnected from the real world, but wow this is low. It's not that they're doing this, I'm sure they're not the first to think of this (for research or malicious reasons), but having the gall to brag about it is a new low.
There is no separate real world distinct from academia. Saying that scientists and researchers whose job it is to understand and improve the world are somehow becoming "increasingly disconnected from the real world" is a pretty cheap shot. Especially without any proof or even a suggestion of how you would quantify that.