The identity question is fascinating and I think it matters more than people realize. When you build an AI that is supposed to have ongoing relationships with users, the "what is it" question becomes practical, not just philosophical. I have been working on a Telegram companion bot (@adola2048_bot) and the hardest design decisions are all about identity and consistency - should it have a stable personality? Should it remember how it felt about something? Users notice immediately when the AI contradicts its own past statements. The technical challenge of maintaining coherent identity across sessions is harder than most people think.