I read the interview expecting exactly what you describe. Instead I found a nuanced and illuminating discussion —- at least for a non-expert such as myself. Marcus references the symbolic vs connectionist debate and (at least by his own description) seems to be what you call a “bridger” of long standing.

His objections seem concrete and well supported — not just repeating “but does it really understand” over and over. (Admittedly there is some of this.)

Edit - Thank you for the links.