I have always found it ironic that while most scientifically minded people accept the idea that out of inanimate matter came single cells then multicell organisms, then simple plant and animal life, then more complex life and in the end us.
But when it comes to the idea that this is somehow the end, that it's not possible to be more than us then they start arguing like religious people did with Darwins theories.
We are special but there is nothing what so ever that says that we wont be superseeded. In fact if genes are somehow carriers of information it looks like technology would be a much better carrier. And if you like me believe technology is a part of nature then it's obvious were we are heading.
But for now we just don't know and thats ok. We will figure it out with time. The Chinese Room however brings nothing constructive or conclusive to this debate.
If a strong AI ever emerges, I expect that future generations will look on this argument the way we today look at phrenology and the ugly history of attempts to justify slavery as some sort of natural order. ST:TNG's Mr. Data, who spends every other episode agonizing over wanting to be human, is equally offensive. How arrogant are we as a species to assume that every thinking thing in the universe would want to be us?