[RobertoG]

"but let's not kid oursevles: there's nothing intelligent here."

There are good indications now that brains work repeating a simple probabilistic algorithm in a multilevel fashion. Intelligence is not a magic property, but a kind of "searching and sorting".

" It is much easier to impress upon the lay person an idea involving "intelligent machines" than it is to explain what we actually do."

In my opinion, the opposite is actually true. No serious researcher want to be associated with those freaks that are waiting for the end of the world. They have a reputation that they need for making a living.