Mike I read with interest what you present and you rightly point out the over-reaching conclusion of the paper. I, however, disagree with your conclusions that the answers lie solely with industry and not academia.

no academic attempts to statistically identify bots is going to produce any meaningful results at all.

This is a Trumpian statement if I have ever heard one. Perhaps if the data was shared adequately and completely, us academics may have much to contribute and insights that are more altruistic. I don’t share your enthusiasm for computational competence or motivation of industry to crack this problem. Sadly, the data is unlikely to directly available.