None of your arguments prove in the slightest way that there is "understanding" in an AI.

> if you personally attempted the bar exam, how well would you do?

Emitting statements that allow you to pass the bar exam says nothing at all about whether you understand the material.

And if I were allowed to bring in a huge database including all bar exam study materials, I'd probably do very well on the exam.

So far, AIs are stochastic parrots. It is certainly possible that future AIs will do considerably better but as of now there is no "understanding" there.