Is Ash 2 the real Ash?

In "Be Right Back," Ash, one of the two main characters, died and left his wife, Martha, as a widow. While Martha was grieving, her friend introduced her to an AI, which, after viewing all of Ash's social media posts and emails, conversed with her as if it were the real Ash. Because she enjoyed its company, she bought an artificial body for it to inhabit, which I will call Ash 2. Ash 2, having access to Ash's online activity, can act just as Ash would in most situations. Is Ash 2 then, in essence, the real Ash?

Ash 2 has access to Ash's online activity for reference, which is, in essence, his "online personality." Ash's online personality is composed of things, such as his observations, things he feels strongly about, and interactions with friends, that he allows to be seen publicly online. Using these, Ash 2 can make assumptions about how Ash would act in situations that he never directly addressed online. Ash's online personality, however, is only a derivation from his actual personality; Ash does not address things he doesn't want people to know about online. Because of this, Ash 2 is not aware of anything Ash felt insecure about. This can be seen when Ash 2 makes a negative remark about pop music that Ash acts as if he doesn't like, but actually sings along to in the car.

Ash 2, although he can act out emotions, does not seem to be able to feel them. This can be seen in multiple instances, such as when he had no reaction to Martha kicking him out of the bedroom, or when Martha told him to jump off of a cliff and he simply agreed. It makes sense that Ash 2 cannot properly respond to situations emotionally, as Ash's online personality doesn't give any indication of his emotional response to personal situations. When Martha tells him he should be experiencing emotions, however, Ash 2 acts out the emotion he should be convincing, and appears as if he is actually feeling the emotion.

Initially, Ash 2 acts very awkwardly since he doesn't know how to respond to everyday situations. From what we can see in the episode, we can tell just from the way he acts that he isn't the same as the real Ash. He does, however, store information about Martha's responses to each situation in which he doesn't know how to act, so that he knows in the future. Eventually, he would have enough real life experience to flawlessly replicate Ash as Martha knew him, had she not forced him to stay in the attic. It is up to Martha to decide whether or not she would consider Ash 2 "the real Ash" at that point.