[gradschool]

tl;dr:

If a computer could have an intelligent conversation, then a person could manually execute the same program to the same effect, and since that person could do so without understanding the conversation, computers aren't sentient.

Analogously, some day I might be on life support. The life support machines won't understand what I'm saying. Therefore I won't mean it.

[31337Logic]

Wow. That was remarkably way off base.

[rcxdude]

I think it gets to the heart of the matter quite succinctly, but the more I see discussions on this the more I think that there's two viewpoints on this which just don't seem to overlap. (as in, I feel like people feel like the Chinese room is either obviously true or obviously false and there's not really an argument or elaboration on it that will change their minds).