Kurzweil is certainly a very smart guy, and he's done a lot of important things. I think people are uncomfortable with how specific he is when making predictions. He also makes predictions in many fields in which he isn't an expert, but a well-informed observer.
I'm not informed enough to comment on his actual predictions, but I've heard him defend himself. His response to criticism that I've heard is, "my critics are uninformed about fact X," but he doesn't make an attempt to justify X. That approach strikes me as disrespectful and intellectually dishonest, as it's a tactic used by many hucksters and snake oil salesmen. I have a limited understanding of his positions, but the way he presents himself makes me uneasy.
I agree about the elaborate predictions and sales pitch feeling. I've reconsidered my Kurzweil hate since the Google hire, because I trust that they have people who can evaluate his skills. Before that, I had to evaluate them on my own, and I drew similar conclusions to yours.
I also think it was elitist of me. A lot of it was just because he's published books that have been marketed as pop-sci trade paperbacks, but I never actually read any of them.
I'm not informed enough to comment on his actual predictions, but I've heard him defend himself. His response to criticism that I've heard is, "my critics are uninformed about fact X," but he doesn't make an attempt to justify X. That approach strikes me as disrespectful and intellectually dishonest, as it's a tactic used by many hucksters and snake oil salesmen. I have a limited understanding of his positions, but the way he presents himself makes me uneasy.