It is a bit strange to consider, but over the past couple of years my thinking on the topic of artificial intelligence has been greatly influenced by the works of the phenomenologists, particularly Merleau-Ponty. His writings on the importance of the body have basically convinced me that non-embodied AI will never be possible. Of all the schools of philosophy upon which to draw inspiration for writing about this topic, phenomenology would have been near the bottom of my list of likely candidates, but it has been a constant source of keen insights and inspiration. I officially take back all the terrible things I said about you in college phenomenology, I am no longer a hater and officially on the phenom bandwagon for the long haul. lol!