During an accident at the annual city Parade Day, Bender witnesses Fry save a human, and not a robot, from being crushed to death.
Because of the "murder", Bender becomes a ghost stuck in an infinite loop in robot limbo, where his software operates on the global wireless network.
The bulls pulling an Amish buggy are able to sense Bender's presence and become spooked, causing a giant geodesic dome barn to fall loose and roll towards an oblivious Fry.
With no means of warning him, Bender possesses the Robot Devil's body (the only machine on the planet) and pushes Fry out of harm's way.
From May 15 to May 19, as part of its "Countdown to Futurama" event, Comedy Central Insider, Comedy Central's news outlet, released various preview materials for the episode, including a storyboard of Fry being given the key to New New York City, stills, and concept art of an Earthican Pride parade float.
On June 15, series co-creator David X. Cohen revealed that Dan Castellaneta would be reprising his role as the Robot Devil.
[2] On June 28, two days prior to the premiere of the episode, Comedy Central released a two-minute clip depicting Bender's death.
A scene in the episode featuring Reverend Preacherbot standing in front of Planet Express in the middle of the night is a reference to the 1973 horror film The Exorcist.
[3] The Robot Devil is seen reading a magazine entitled Life in Hell, a reference to Futurama series creator Matt Groening's comic strip of the same name.
[5] The concept of machines coming to life was the central theme of Stephen King's movie Maximum Overdrive.
[6] In its original American broadcast, "Ghost in the Machines" was viewed by an estimated 1.921 million households with a 0.91 rating in the 18–49 demographic.
[3] Sean Gandert of Paste wrote, "It's not an instant classic, but "Ghost in the Machine" delivered on what an average Futurama episode should do."