Valuable ruminations on an important topic. You refer to the soul, and it is indicative of the nescience we share on this subject that our language is very limited in it's ability to express understanding of just what we really are. I have used the idea of consciousness to explore this issue, and have come to some startling conclusions. Dr. Michael Levin might enable you to better understand what we are and what the soul is, or may be. There is also a principle in physics that underlies my understanding of the soul, the No Hiding Theorem, which states that information cannot be lost to the universe. Even if a particle that contains information about it's spin, charge, vector, and etc. falls into a black hole, that information is not lost to the universe because that particle has interacted with the physical universe, and the impacts it has had are able to define that information about it.

If we are anything, we are information. Our character, memories, and thoughts are all information that has impacted the universe, and the universe will retain that information permanently. Whether or not that implies or demonstrates our souls survive the body I cannot state with confidence, but there is an increasing body of research that shows even after the body has died the people that animated that body do not, because some of them are revived after they die and can report information that was only available after they died, and before they were revived. This strongly suggests to me that our souls do persist beyond the limits of our bodies.

Because we can only detect consciousness indirectly, and have no meter that can measure it, we know very little about it. It's not electricity, light, or any other physical energy we know much about, because then we could measure it, or at least detect it some other way than by observing animate creatures that take actions that demonstrate consciousness. We can't use that indirect method to ascertain that trees, rocks, or stars aren't conscious. They aren't animate, so can't take actions that demonstrate they are conscious, so we can't prove they aren't conscious by this means.

I hope the information herein enables you to better understand who - and what - we are, and what AI seems not to be, which is a construct of the collective consciousness of the cells our bodies are comprised of. Unless rocks and things are indeed conscious, I don't think AI can ever be conscious, because it is comprised of things that aren't alive, and suspect consciousness may be something that causes things to be alive. I sure don't know, though, and remain open to information that might enable me to better understand these things as well.

Thanks!

Edit: regarding purpose, I don't think we have much idea at all about what our purpose is. We make decisions based on very limited information as to what we think is or isn't our purpose, but I don't think we have enough information and understanding of the universe and our place in it to make such decisions wisely. I often find I have been wrong about things I was certain sure of, and have to change my mind. It's been said that when an honest man finds out they are wrong, they either stop being wrong, or stop being honest. I sure don't want to deceive myself, so I try hard to stick to being honest. As far as I can ascertain a purpose for my life, it is to be good to people and create good will. It isn't to accumulate slave coupons (money), fast cars, children, or anything I can measure, because no such accoutrements can accompany me beyond my body, and if I persist after my body dies, then anything that only pertains to my body can't be the purpose of me. Again, I sure don't know, but have some confidence that being good to good people will benefit me in perpetuity, and thus has some potential to be my purpose. I don't think that could harm me in perpetuity, so until I know more and understand better I'll stand on that hill until I die on it.