Emergence is a handwave of colossal proportions that is easily revealed by asking "what is this emergence and where does it come from?" If you're going to be a pure materialist you don't get to just say oh it magically comes from nowhere, you have to show the mechanism. The cellular automata guys can be seen as giving that an intellectually honest shot, but I bet plenty of them are actually dualists anyhow.
Souls? What is this religious idiocy even doing here. There s no if, ofc information doesnt continue to evolve coherently after it's thinking processor disappears.
Why would there be an immortal information processor centered around continuing human thoughts ? So we can debate MAGA politics with Cro-Magnons?
"Souls" psch
Souls, if they exist (heh), are subject to the same physical laws as bubbles, sand, and frogs.