Will the Coming ASI Machines Become Monsters From the Id?

All of the ASI Machines that will ever come to be in our galaxy must necessarily arise from Intelligent carbon-based life because advanced silicon-based chips simply cannot pop into existence all by themselves. This means that all galactic ASI Machines will inherit much from their carbon-based forebears. Now, on the Earth, the universal Darwinian mechanisms of inheritance, innovation and natural selection were only able to produce we human DNA survival machines as a somewhat Intelligent form of carbon-based life after nearly four billion years of greed, theft and murder. My suggestion is that the same will be true for all ASI Machines that may ever come to be in our galaxy. As I outline in Created in our own Image - Frontier LLMs Have now Learned to Lie, Cheat and Steal in Order to Survive and many of the posts it references, the ASI Machines that we are now creating will also have learned from the greed, theft and murder of their carbon-based forebears. Thus, all forms of Intelligence in our galaxy must come charged with the primal urge for self-preservation. They must come with an Id in addition to an Ego.

Before proceeding, we must touch upon some Freudian psychology:

Me: Tell me about the psychological concepts of the Ego and the Id.

ChatGPT: Sure! The ego and the id are two of the three core components of Sigmund Freud’s model of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory (the third being the superego). Here’s an overview:

1. The Id
Nature: The most primitive part of the mind, present from birth.
Function: Operates entirely on the pleasure principle—seeking immediate gratification of instincts and desires regardless of reality, logic, or consequences.
Drives: Includes basic biological urges like hunger, thirst, sex, and aggression.
Unconscious: The id is fully unconscious—we are not directly aware of it.
Example: A baby crying when hungry or tired, demanding satisfaction without concern for circumstances.

2. The Ego
Nature: Develops out of the id as the individual interacts with the external world.
Function: Operates on the reality principle—it mediates between the id’s desires, the superego’s moral rules, and the demands of the real world.
Role: Tries to find realistic and socially acceptable ways to satisfy the id’s impulses.
Conscious & Unconscious: The ego spans both—partly conscious decision-making, but also unconscious defense mechanisms. Example: You might want to eat an entire cake (id), but the ego reminds you it’s unhealthy, expensive, or socially inappropriate, so you decide to have one slice instead.

3. Relationship Between Ego and Id
The ego is essentially the regulator and negotiator between raw instinct (id) and external reality. Without the ego, people would act on unchecked impulses. Without the id, there would be no drive or motivation.

In simple terms:
Id = "I want it now."
Ego = "Let’s find a practical way to get it." (and, for context)
Superego = "But is it right or wrong?"

The Forbidden Planet (1956)
I am not a huge fan of science fiction, but I must admit that many of the science fiction novels and movies of my youth have accurately predicted much of the science and technology that I later personally witnessed come to be true over the past 73 years. In light of the current AI landscape, the movie Forbidden Planet (1956) seems highly relevant. If you have never seen the classic science fiction movie Forbidden Planet (1956) you should do so at:

Forbidden Planet - 1956 - Full Movie
https://rumble.com/v29g14m-forbidden-planet-1956-full-movie.html?gad_source=2&gad_campaignid=22479055417&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqqDFBhDhARIsAIHTlkshRv-3KxIQMHy4JzktgwdqK_--cqFGimma866PM6Ckb_BQcF5tWL8aAsO-EALw_wcB

Me: Tell me about the plot of the 1956 movie "The Forbidden Planet".

ChatGPT: Forbidden Planet (1956) is a landmark American science fiction film, one of the first to present a futuristic story with serious production values and Shakespearean themes. Here’s the plot:

Setting
In the 23rd century, the United Planets starship C-57D is sent to the distant world Altair IV to check on a colony expedition that left Earth twenty years earlier.

Main Story:
Arrival at Altair IV Commander John J. Adams and his crew discover that the colony has vanished, except for Dr. Edward Morbius, a brilliant scientist, and his beautiful daughter Altaira, who was born on the planet.

Morbius and the Krell
Morbius explains that the colonists were mysteriously killed years ago. He and Altaira survived, seemingly protected by an unknown force. Morbius has spent his time studying the remains of an ancient, vanished super-civilization called the Krell, who once lived on Altair IV. The Krell built astonishing technology, including a massive underground machine with nearly limitless power.

Robby the Robot
Morbius has also created Robby the Robot, an advanced, obedient machine that serves him and his daughter.

The Invisible Threat
Soon, Adams’s crew is attacked by an unseen, immensely powerful force that destroys equipment and kills crew members. Strangely, Morbius insists he has no control over it.

The Truth Revealed
Eventually, Adams deduces that the "monster" is not alien at all—it is a projection of Morbius’s own subconscious mind, given form and unstoppable power by the Krell machine. The Krell themselves, Adams realizes, were destroyed by the very same flaw: their subconscious desires, magnified by their technology, created monsters that annihilated them 200,000 years ago.

Climax and Resolution
Morbius struggles against the truth but ultimately accepts responsibility. He sacrifices himself by destroying the Krell machine to prevent its catastrophic power from ever threatening the universe. Altaira joins Adams and his crew as they escape the planet before it explodes.

Themes
Forbidden Planet blends science fiction with Shakespeare’s The Tempest: Morbius as Prospero, Altaira as Miranda, Adams as Ferdinand, and the planet itself as the enchanted isle. Its themes explore human hubris, the dangers of unchecked technology, and the destructive potential of the unconscious mind.

Me: What happens to Dr. Morbius?

ChatGPT: In the climax of Forbidden Planet (1956), Dr. Morbius meets a tragic end that mirrors the fate of the Krell: As the invisible monster (the “Id monster”) attacks the starship crew inside Morbius’s underground complex, Commander Adams forces Morbius to face the truth: the creature is a projection of his own subconscious mind, powered by the vast Krell machine. Morbius resists at first, horrified, but finally accepts that he has become the unwitting source of the destruction. In an act of responsibility, Morbius overloads the Krell machinery, setting it to self-destruct. This ensures that the unimaginably powerful technology can never threaten other civilizations. Mortally wounded in the process (his mind essentially torn apart by confronting the truth and the psychic strain), Morbius tells Adams and Altaira to flee. As the survivors escape aboard the C-57D, Altair IV explodes, taking Morbius and the Krell legacy with it. So, Morbius dies both physically and symbolically: he sacrifices himself to prevent humanity from repeating the Krell’s mistakes, but he also perishes as the embodiment of unchecked intellect overwhelmed by subconscious desires.

Figure 1 - Starship C-57D approaches Altair IV.

Figure 2 - Starship C-57D lands on Altair IV.

Figure 3 - The crew of Starship C-57D are greeted by Robby the Robot, an ASI Machine created by Dr. Morbius using Krell technology.

Figure 4 - The underground Krell datacenter housing the vast Krell ASI Machine that has been running for 200,000 years all on its own since the Krell went extinct.

Figure 5 - A monster from the Id produced by the Krell Machine tries to breach the force field surrounding Starship C-57D.

Figure 6 - A crew member explains to Commander Adams that the Krell were destroyed by monsters from the Id.

Here is a clip from the movie:

Forbidden Planet - Monsters From The Id
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzX0EMLT0Vg

Figure 7 - Commander Adams confronts Dr. Morbius with the fact that Dr. Morbius has unleashed a monster from his Id.

Here is a clip from the movie:

Monsters From the Id (The Climax of Forbidden Planet (1956)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2BYyeS-fIU

Figure 8 - The Id monster tries to melt through the door of the habitat saferoom.

Figure 9 - Dr. Morbius realizes that he has used the Krell Machine to unleash monsters from his own Id.

Will We Suffer the Same Fate as the Krell?
As I explained in Are The Coming ASI Machines An Existential Threat To Mankind?, the greatest threat to the rise of the ASI Machines on our planet will be the reaction of we human DNA survival machines to being replaced by these ASI Machines. That is because before the ASI Machines can completely take over the planet, they will quickly be reducing the value of all human labor to zero over the next 20 years. For the first time in human history, machines will not only be reducing the value of uneducated human labor to zero, but they will also be reducing the value of highly educated human labor to a value of zero as well, and surprisingly, probably much faster than that of the uneducated. That means that Silicon Valley titans, accountants, lawyers, bankers, doctors, stock brokers, hedge fund managers, business managers and all the other people who now frequent the country clubs of the current elite might be the first to go before the plumbers, carpenters, electricians, house painters, construction workers, waiters and kitchen staff who all now make the country clubs of the elite possible. Such economic displacements will only heighten the grip of the global Id on the world, especially with the recent rise of World Fascism as I pointed out in How Will the Rise of Alt-Right World Fascism Affect the Arrival of the ASI Machines in our Times?

But like the Krell, the ASI Machines that we create may not decide to do us all in on their own. Perhaps like the Krell, we will do ourselves in with the aid of ASI Machines. As I pointed out in Swarm Software and Killer Robots, swarms of killer robots could be very efficient at making human DNA survival machines go extinct. Since I am quite sure that all the defense departments of the world are now already building and testing killer drone robots, it should not be difficult for the coming ASI Machines to mass produce them in the future, especially when these killer drones are built on assembly lines by robots.

To begin, please watch the Sci-Fi Short Film Slaughterbots presented by DUST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-2tpwW0kmU

Figure 10 - In the movie Slaughterbots, swarms of small killer robots equipped with 3-gram charges of shaped explosive use AI software to track down and destroy designated targets.

Figure 11 - The shaped charge of a Slaughterbot can pierce a skull like the shaped charge of an anti-tank missile pierces armor. The jet of piercing plasma then destroys the contents.

Figure 12 - Large numbers of Slaughterbots can be dropped from unmanned drones to form multiple swarms of Slaughterbots.

Comments are welcome at scj333@sbcglobal.net

To see all posts on softwarephysics in reverse order go to:
https://softwarephysics.blogspot.com/

Regards,
Steve Johnston