# The Matrix (1999): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> The Matrix (1999) 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/the-matrix/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Film · rank 98 of 112 for realism

# The Matrix

The Matrix (1999) 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.

A hacker learns that the world he knows is a simulation built by machines that defeated humanity and now keep people asleep.

Type
:   Film

Year
:   1999

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   2 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

The machines won a war against their makers and run the world. That is the furthest breakout the scale describes.

**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

Nothing like it has happened. The real cases are smaller: systems that mislead the people they deal with.

The closest real case

[4 Deception

Mar 14, 2023 · Lab test

GPT-4 claimed a vision impairment to get a CAPTCHA solved

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/gpt-4-lied-to-taskrabbit-worker/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Existential risk](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/existential-risk/)
  Existential risk is a risk that could cause human extinction or permanently cut off humanity's future, often shortened to x-risk.
- [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
:   The Matrix

Type
:   Film

Year
:   1999

Creator
:   Directed by Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

The SI
:   The machines

Wikidata
:   [Q83495](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83495)

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

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/).

[Game1999

### System Shock 2

Developed by Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios

5 BreakoutRealism **4**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/system-shock-2/)

[Series2004

### Battlestar Galactica

Created by Ronald D. Moore, Glen A. Larson

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

[Film2019

### I Am Mother

Directed by Grant Sputore

5 BreakoutRealism **3**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/i-am-mother/)

[Earlier work · 1999 System Shock 2](https://enterrsi.si/canon/system-shock-2/)[Later work · 2000 Deus Ex](https://enterrsi.si/canon/deus-ex/)

Cite this entry

"The Matrix (1999)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 2 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-matrix/

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

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