Academic papers are supposed to be about the author... They're meant to be an author's work put forth to an intended community of "colleagues", not students or general public. No one should think that a general learner is supposed to turn to academic research papers as their main vector of learning content.
I personally never thought academic papers were about the author. They might have turned into an ego game, but I always assumed that the goal of academic writing was to effectively communicate complex ideas and research findings to the reader. If not, then it's no wonder our voices are the first ones the public ignores in a time of crisis.
