The trend of commodifying information and knowledge has to stop.
How many advances have been hindered by those that want to stifle the exchange of ideas to protect some imaginary profit in the future?
Its likely to be too many to count reliably. Like any system, if it can be gamed without any severe consequences, it will until its underlying structure becomes non-functional. In a way, academic "inflation" is the process that will accelerate this to its logical conclusion.
We're really on the cusp of being replaced by something more rational, whether that is a breakout AI or something else, I really wouldn't mind if things swung in the direction of the most logical construct having an advantage.
We had our chance, and we blew it. And continue to waste our potential.