Acharya Prashant responds to a question about the ego and the urge for freedom by first addressing the analogy of a robot. He explains that one could say a robot has no ego, or that it has an ego planted into it by its designer, which is totally in bondage and therefore choiceless. He defines the ego as the sense of 'I' or 'I-am-ness,' which for humans can be either robotic or real. The 'I-am-ness' is robotic when it is dependent on others. If one feels threatened that their sense of self will disappear if the 'other' disappears, that is the slave ego. This slave ego is a false ego, which most people choose to live with. It is dependent on external factors for its identity. For example, if someone's identity is 'I am rich,' and their riches vanish, they feel they are 'gone' because their identity has collapsed. The real ego, in contrast, is self-dependent and free. It does not need to identify with anything external and does not experience a vacuum that must be compulsively filled. The false ego, however, constantly needs to define itself, such as by saying 'I am gossiping,' just to feel alive, fearing a false 'inner death' in silence. Humans are born with a sense of 'I am' and a feeling of unfulfillment. This 'I am' then spends its life trying to gain fulfillment. Due to ignorance, we seek this fulfillment from useless sources, choosing to associate with things that will ultimately fail to deliver it. We build identities like 'I am a husband,' 'I am intelligent,' or 'I am smart,' hoping these associations will bring fulfillment. However, this is an exercise in the wrong direction. What we truly require is not association, but dissociation, which is freedom. Freedom is the act of dissociating oneself from all dependencies. The ego, however, constantly clamors for more dependencies, and even things we consider assets become our masters. For instance, if you own a Rolls Royce and it disappears, you suffer, not the car. In this case, the car is the master. The ego constantly seeks to achieve and accomplish, thinking these associations will bring fulfillment, but they do not. Freedom comes from dissociation, which does not mean becoming a loner but simply means not being a slave. One can be in a relationship without being a slave. The fundamental choice is to either live in freedom or to chase associations and accomplishments, which only leads to disappointment and suffering.