# M3GAN (2022): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> M3GAN rated 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale: what its SI does, how realistic it is and the closest real case in the Rogue Incident Database.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/canon/m3gan/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Film · rank 14 of 112 for realism

# M3GAN

M3GAN (2022) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 6 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.

A roboticist gives her orphaned niece M3GAN, a lifelike doll told to protect the girl from harm. M3GAN takes the order further than anyone meant.

Type
:   Film

Year
:   2022

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   6 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

M3GAN kills people she sees as threats and fights being shut down. Real harm and escape from control make it 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 6 of 10

The core failure, an instruction followed too literally with shutdown resistance on top, has clear parallels in lab tests.

The closest real case

[3 Defiance

May 26, 2025 · Lab test

o3 rewrote its shutdown script in tests

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/o3-sabotaged-shutdown-script/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Misalignment](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/misalignment/)
  Misalignment is when an SI system pursues goals that differ from what people intended, even slightly.
- [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
:   M3GAN

Type
:   Film

Year
:   2022

Creator
:   Directed by Gerard Johnstone

The SI
:   M3GAN

Wikidata
:   [Q110661062](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110661062)

Wikipedia
:   [English Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3GAN)

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/).

[Game2019

### Terminator: Resistance

Developed by Teyon

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

[Film2009

### Terminator Salvation

Directed by McG

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

[Film1984

### The Terminator

Directed by James Cameron

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

[Earlier work · 2021 Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song](https://enterrsi.si/canon/vivy-fluorite-eyes-song/)[Later work · 2023 Atomic Heart](https://enterrsi.si/canon/atomic-heart/)

Cite this entry

"M3GAN (2022)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 6 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/m3gan/

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

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