I think both the views have their merits. In my mind the hardware vs software analogy for weights vs context holds better because in most modern computing systems, the hardware is fixed and the software changes. What the system can do efficiently, in practice, is a function of both the limitations/capabilities of the hardware and the software their respective capability ceilings.

The brain theory also kind of says the same thing, but it's hard to say what stays fixed vs changes with experience in the brain ig.