ghosts in the machine

A concept that is central to a lot of so-called "cyberpunk" books and films, notably William Gibson's seminal work Neuromancer.
The idea that a sentient intelligence can occupy a man-made machine calls into question the idea of identity ... or something like that.

A concept generally driven by fear. Specifically fear that the entity that would develop under such circumstances(ghosted or intentionally created) would be somehow more than human and be agressive to humanity.

Consider the impetus of several popular works of fiction and film from Terminator to The Matrix to The Jesus Incident which cross the lines from outright aggression by the computer/machine to delusions of godhood.