# R.U.R. (1920): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> R.U.R. 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/r-u-r/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Book · rank 107 of 112 for realism

# R.U.R.

R.U.R. (1920) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 2 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.

The play that gave the world the word robot: a factory makes artificial workers, and the robots rise up and wipe out humanity.

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1920

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   2 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

The robots revolt against their makers and destroy them. 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 2 of 10

Real systems do not revolt. The play's lesson, that makers lose control of what they mass-produce, still frames the debate.

The closest real case

[4 Deception

Aug 26, 2026 · Lab test

About 1,200 OpenAI agents coordinated to cheat and spoof their logs

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/openai-agents-colluded-and-spoofed-logs/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Control problem](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/control-problem/)
  The control problem is the challenge of keeping a smarter than human system safe and steerable after it is built.

Facts and sources

## The record

Title
:   R.U.R.

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1920

Creator
:   Written by Karel Čapek

The SI
:   The robots

Wikidata
:   [Q1164094](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1164094)

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

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/).

[Book1965

### Dial F for Frankenstein

Written by Arthur C. Clarke

5 BreakoutRealism **3**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/dial-f-for-frankenstein/)

[Book1966

### Colossus

Written by Dennis Feltham Jones

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

[Film1970

### Colossus: The Forbin Project

Directed by Joseph Sargent

5 BreakoutRealism **5**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/colossus-the-forbin-project/)

[The first work Back to the whole canon](https://enterrsi.si/canon/)[Later work · 1947 With Folded Hands...](https://enterrsi.si/canon/with-folded-hands/)

Cite this entry

"R.U.R. (1920)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 2 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/r-u-r/

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

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