I don’t care either way about this conversation, just thought it was interesting, but what you described is essentially every engineered thing.
A pocket watch has more complexity than what you are describing but isn’t any closer to “artificial life” then any other engineered thing that takes and stores external power.
The mechanisms of a pocket watch are specifically designed to avoid influence from the outside environment. A strandbeest has the added complexity of evolving to actual environments, which are pretty complex. The ability to survive is pretty life-like, even more than the ability to function.
A pocket watch has more complexity than what you are describing but isn’t any closer to “artificial life” then any other engineered thing that takes and stores external power.