@cogmission probably me, yes. And the lack of H in HTM is my other big complaint–though as a practical matter, I think it’s entirely sensible to focus for now on what problems can be solved by the existing architecture. (My guess is that multilayers with feedback is going to be a Big Damn Hard Problem–but as I so often say around HTM, I very much hope to be proven wrong.)
As for whether additional layers and feedback can replace specialized preprocessing, well, maybe? I might be more certain if I had a stronger mental model for what sort of a device this is, for what kind of problems it is and isn’t good at. Looking at primates, I note that we still do an awful lot of our early sensory processing subcortically; but then it seems easier for evolution to add new stuff than to get rid of old, so maybe that’s historical accident rather than a guiding principle.