I want to understand this from your perspective. I parse this differently.
The AI will discover the essence of the function. Like in your excellent irony explanation, the sequence of logical steps can be deduced and mimicked. It’s function laid bare. But there is more to irony than just the logic.
Irony stirs an uneasy feeling where two values don’t align. Irony, paradox, koans in the spiritual tradition of Zen Buddhism, all use that uneasy feeling to point to a deeper meaning. A transcendent problem that is illuminated by irony.
An AI analysis of irony would not have a feeling component, or qualia of any kind. And because of that, I can’t say that AI finds the “essence” of something.