I think TFA's point is that one cannot completely abstain from food or clothes (or, in many places, at least some tech) without suffering very severe consequences, so it is unreasonable to expect this behavior. Not so AI, at least for most people.

There is so much daylight between "completely abstain" and making better choices, even if those choices are painful. I can assure you the author uses an expensive phone, and shops at the same clothing stores we do. By shear coincidence, the thing he doesn't want to use is the easy choice.