David Gelernter has made a name for himself by being as pessimistic about AI as researchers like Kurzweil are optimistic (the two debated each other last year). He describes himself as an "anticognitivist" (presumably he's only opposed to cognition in machine, not humans, however, so a label like anti-machine-cognitivist might be more accurate). Gelernter's latest rant against AI says AI researchers are missing the "most important fact", something he calls a "cognitive continuum", something that "connects the seemingly unconnected puzzle pieces of thinking". Without this cognitive continuum, "AI is lost in the woods" according to Gelernter. He goes on to bring up the usual anti-AI arguments like the Searle's Chinese Room. Interestingly, considering yesterday's post on definitions, he talks about consciousness, intelligence, and emotion without offering any definitions.