I see it as a social experiment more than a lie.
I read the article. I assume you did too. He saw a friend with better grades than he get denied for entrance in to Med school. ( BTW I have a spouse that went through the med school process, I understand it well. He could have been denied for any number of reasons beyond GPA.) Because his friend was denied he was terrified. At the time med school meant everything. Therefore, he lied in order to benefit from AA. He wasn't trying to conduct an experiment, he was acting in a despicable manner. Period. It's convenient in hindsight to reframe it as a social experiment, but the truth is it wasn't intended as such. The guy just wanted to get in and lied in order to do so. What really sucks is that someone that AA was actually meant to help could have potentially benefited from the program and become a good physician. Instead, the guy quits. I don't think much of this fella.