I can write a program today that can simulate a worms "emergent behavior" without simulating the cells. Maybe a little 3D model that wriggles around. I can even do a human!

But I think what we're looking for here is something closer to emulation. In the same way that video game console emulators seek to reproduce the exact bugs that the original hardware produced - the value here does not come from abstracting away the lowest levels of behavior.