Planes don't fly like birds do, but we certainly learned something about good wing design from birds.
It certainly helped.
Mind is different, because you do not want to create a zombie, that acts like a human, but an actually conscious system.
Please provide proof that humans aren't zombies. If you act like you're conscious, you are conscious.
Consciousness does not have external signs; I have not a slightest idea what it means "act like you're conscious"; a paralyzed person is conscious after all. The only reason to believe that humans (aside of myself, obviously) are conscious is that all humans share structural similarity with me.