I dunno, for me "understanding" something implies an ability to reason about your reasoning. a rule-based AI can't do that, and even if interesting patterns emerge, it's still deterministic.
This point crosses into the realm of metaphysics and philosophy because it's entirely possible that more than just google's AI is deterministic. Besides, as input for the AI they are using the behavior of the millions of google users. Its likely as deterministic as you or I.