Yes, the author was not talking about A/B testing at all, but about popups and annoying UX patterns that get rewarded by poorly used A/B tests or short-term thi

Yes, the author was not talking about A/B testing at all, but about popups and annoying UX patterns that get rewarded by poorly used A/B tests or short-term thinking. But there is nothing stopping anybody from using long-term A/B tests (I assume most companies do, like you). Unfortunately dark patterns might simply be profitable.