Hi.
To make a digital life form I have imagined that you need to put a AI between the body and brain.
Then tell it to analyse all signals coming in to the brain as input and out to the body as output.
And then tell it to try to replicate the output signals when doing different tasks.
When one task is the same you do next task until you get the same output.
To do this with animals is maybe ok.
You can start with insects and then mice and apes and so on.
The problem is that it is not ok to do this to humans. 
But there is a way.
You build telerobots and put them to remote control work.
And put a AI between and start to work with simple tasks.
When output signals from AI is the same as the human you do another work.
Then you make more and more advanced work,
until it replicate any remote controlled work in minuts.
Now you add as many sensors and cameras you can,
to copy a human body and make more advanced tasks.
And so on…
Or how would you set up a system to create digital life?
Regards MagI