Barbara Webb raises a crucial methodological point: in order to learn something about biology, it is more effective to build models of existing animals, rather than building ad hoc artificial creatures (animats). The critical problem with animats is how to validate them, since a direct comparison with animals is not straightforward. In our commentary, we will raise three main points: 1. While we agree that validation of an animat is indispensable, we propose alternative validation criteria to direct comparison with an animal. 2. We will advocate the animats’ right to existence by listing advantages of the animat approach. 3. We speculate that methodological purity versus effectiveness of practical research can be sometimes seen as a trade-off.
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