People argued the same way about computer chess, "it doesn't really understand the board, it is just checking all possibilities", etc. People like Chomsky used to say that a computer will never beat a master chess or go player because it "lacks the imagination to come up with a strategy", etc. No-one makes that argument anymore. Von Neumann already remarked in the 1940s that AI is a moving goalpost because as something is achieved, it doesn't seem intelligent anymore.
Chomsky's arguments were already debunked by Norvig a decade ago. Instead of bothering to respond, he writes another high-brow dismissal in flowery prose.