Yes, I've heard this sentiment repeatedly among my less-technical friends. It's no surprise given that we insist on attaching the word "Intelligence" to a language model.
I'm familiar with the theory. But in order to evaluate your claim "just because it's a computer program does not mean it's unintelligent", we would first need to agree on a definition of intelligence. I don't have one to propose, except to say that I think it requires more than merely an understanding of language.
Just because it's a computer program does not mean it's unintelligent.