AE was always going to be broken no matter how the rewards were given. Farms existed even before AE. Once the meta route to easy rewards is found, that would always be the way.
The Skinner Box model itself has been broken for a long while now. Its why Guild Wars 2 gave up on vertical progression and FFXIV ties it to the main story quest. Give people a pellet dispenserr, and they'll find a way to jam the dispenser open.