And an explanation requires a mechanism, a causal mechanism, so you can say exactly what caused what, and why. Your theory about the causal mechanism must itself be testable, and to test it, you make predictions. And understanding, like it or not, means causal understanding. Whatever systems have those capacities will be covered by our theory, whether or not they have the same anatomy and pharmacology as the brain. This will come up later in the course.
Neural nets are indeed best at pattern recognition.
A LOT of what we do is pattern recognition, but certainly not ALL of it. Usually symbolic AI models high-level reasoning and language, whereas neural nets model lower level categorisation. The brain does have neurons that have action potentials that are like on and off elements. Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics. An overview is given of the physical and mathematical principles underlying the behavior of the universe.