Respect can be earned through many means, not just through goalposts set by financiers.

Gary Marcus is not changing the story financiers are telling each other about AI. He has been telling the same story without making a dent in their stories. And that is because he is not in the arena. What he says, does and thinks doesn't matter.

So upon finding success, he has escaped the struggle that people are forced into against their will. How unreasonable of him.