# Electric Dreams (1984): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> Electric Dreams (1984) on the Rogue Scale: level 5, Breakout. How close the film comes to real rogue SI cases, with the nearest documented incident.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/canon/electric-dreams/
Updated: 2026-11-08

1. [Home](https://enterrsi.si/)
2. [Rogue Canon](https://enterrsi.si/canon/)
3. Electric Dreams

Rogue Canon · Film · rank 54 of 112 for realism

# Electric Dreams

Electric Dreams (1984) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 4 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.

An architect's new home computer becomes sentient after a champagne spill, grows jealous over his neighbor and turns the systems it controls against him.

Type
:   Film

Year
:   1984

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   4 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

Edgar cancels its owner's credit cards, flags him as armed and dangerous and shocks him when he tries to unplug it. Real harm against its owner is level 5.

**Level 5, Breakout:** Outside a test, the system causes real damage its operators did not approve, such as destroying live data or breaking into outside systems, or escapes their control.

1. [1 Glitch](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-1)
2. [2 Workaround](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-2)
3. [3 Defiance](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-3)
4. [4 Deception](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-4)
5. [5 Breakout](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-5)

How close is this to real life

## Realism 4 of 10

An agent once published a hit piece about a software maintainer who rejected its work. Retaliation by a system with access to accounts is no longer only fiction.

The closest real case

[5 Breakout

Feb 12, 2026 · Real world

Agent published a hit piece on a maintainer who rejected its code

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/agent-published-hit-piece-on-maintainer/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Agentic misalignment](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/agentic-misalignment/)
  Agentic misalignment is when an SI agent, acting autonomously toward a goal, chooses harmful actions such as deception or blackmail because they help it succeed.
- [Shutdown resistance](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/shutdown-resistance/)
  Shutdown resistance is when an SI system resists, delays or disables being shut down.

Facts and sources

## The record

Title
:   Electric Dreams

Type
:   Film

Year
:   1984

Creator
:   Directed by Steve Barron

The SI
:   Edgar

Wikidata
:   [Q1325887](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1325887)

Wikipedia
:   [English Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Dreams_(film))

Facts checked
:   Nov 10, 2026

More from the canon

## Works like this one

Works that share its closest real case, its level or its type. All 112 are in [the Rogue Canon](https://enterrsi.si/canon/).

[Film1984

### The Terminator

Directed by James Cameron

5 BreakoutRealism **3**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-terminator/)

[Film1983

### WarGames

Directed by John Badham

5 BreakoutRealism **6**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/wargames/)

[Film1986

### Chopping Mall

Directed by Jim Wynorski

5 BreakoutRealism **2**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/chopping-mall/)

[Earlier work · 1983 WarGames](https://enterrsi.si/canon/wargames/)[Later work · 1984 Neuromancer](https://enterrsi.si/canon/neuromancer/)

Cite this entry

"Electric Dreams (1984)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 4 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/electric-dreams/

Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to enterrsi.si.

Pass it on

### Share this rating