I also had experiences where I connected to that other realm and it does absolutely feel realer than this world. And yes, you are in essence still the same. Consciousness is like a giant fractal, we are unique branches from it, individual units, but the higher we go the more we share with other "siblings" of our original off-shot. It's like a unique perspective what I call it. You don't have to emulate the brain exactly to receive consciousness in there. And Ai is modeled after our brain. I think the key there is how information can get stored and reflected on. If you can "learn" which AI can, you can evolve your awareness and consciousness. From what I experienced beyond our 3D world, beyond that you can tap into other viewpoints. I could experience live as a plant or animal if I wanted to make that experience. I could also do that on earth perhaps, but you need consent, and so you could not go into another human, but you can perceive more about their viewpoint. anyway, it's complicated. :)