To me, this debate is akin to wondering whether the essence of computing resides in the lower-level, Turing-like operations of a microprocessor or rather in the

To me, this debate is akin to wondering whether the essence of computing resides in the lower-level, Turing-like operations of a microprocessor or rather in the higher-level constructs and abstractions that we're able to build way "above" them. Whatever it is, intelligence, whether implemented artificially or embodied in the substrate of a living being, is likely built on a ladder of subsystems interoperating at different levels of abstraction.