I agree that this isn't a particularly special accusation, and that existing algorithms probably could get "anti-war" out of Dylan lyrics (especially with some

I agree that this isn't a particularly special accusation, and that existing algorithms probably could get "anti-war" out of Dylan lyrics (especially with some meta content; most people learn about Dylan from sources stretching beyond his lyrics). I still think there's a legitimate complaint here, though: IBM isn't doing unusually badly, but they're promising an exceptional amount. Even if Watson is a good product, and symbolic understanding isn't needed for good AI, they're still making claims they can't deliver on.