This reminds me of weight loss stats.
You know 95% of people that lose weight fail, so why even try? You know how many people I have met that are 400 lbs but won't even try because of that stat? Is it true? Depends on who you ask, what study, when etc.
What I know is I lost 120 lbs 6 years ago. I changed my lifestyle, that changed my weight.
I have gained some back (partly due to drinking) and am working on getting it off again.
Does that mean I FAILED? No, it means I am making a lifestyle change after 30 years of eating one way.
That can be applied to drinking. Is 60 days sober better than 0 days sober, even if we go back to drinking? Yes.
Does it do good even if the alcoholic drinks for 2 months and gets sober for 3 months and repeats? Yes.
Hopefully everyone will be sober permanently. That's what I want for myself. But stats are generally misleading and often dangerous to those trying to or thinking about change.
Now with that said, are there things I would change about AA? Sure. I'm sure that the billion people in AA today maybe aren't as passionate as those in 1939. We're like a small town that's turned into a large city. So I am sure those that need a lot of support often fall through the cracks. Let's change that, but I wouldn't do it using the 3% stat. it's just misleading.
My .02
SoberforMe