The flip side sure could be interesting, but studying it seems like a very different task (with a significantly larger scope) than this project. That doesn't seem realistic to be covered in this sort of paper.
It would've been nice to mention it. My sense is that the quote in the abstract might have been a signal from one of the authors who felt the same way.
I doubt it. The author has likely read Anna Karenina and fully understands that it is not at all an endorsement.