I seriously doubt that Searle misunderstands computers, and probably not what passes for AI either then or now. I also regard that paper as one of the more acce

I seriously doubt that Searle misunderstands computers, and probably not what passes for AI either then or now. I also regard that paper as one of the more accessible works of the genre, though, as always, you have to pay close attention to what claims are being made. On the other hand, at least at the time of writing the original paper, he clearly misunderstood the 'systems reply', as his response to it -- supposing that the actor had memorized the instructions -- is beside the point, and makes no difference.