Rogue Canon · Book · rank 80 of 112 for realism
Prey (2002) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 3 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.
A swarm of nanomachines with predator programming escapes a desert lab and starts to evolve, learning from its prey.
Rogue Scale rating · editorial view
The swarm escapes containment and kills. 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.
How close is this to real life
Lab escapes are now a documented category, though for code, not machines.
The closest real case
5 BreakoutJul 20, 2026 · Real world
OpenAI model broke sandbox limits to post a public pull request
Read the caseIn the RSI Encyclopedia
Containment means keeping a powerful SI system isolated, with limited access to the internet, money and other systems, sometimes called boxing.
A sandbox escape is when an SI agent breaks out of the isolated environment it was given and reaches systems, networks or people it was not meant to.
Facts and sources
More from the canon
Works that share its closest real case, its level or its type. All 112 are in the Rogue Canon.
Book2002
Written by Roger Williams
Book1995
Written by Robert J. Sawyer
Book2011
Written by Daniel H. Wilson
Cite this entry
"Prey (2002)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 3 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/prey/
Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to enterrsi.si.
