# With Folded Hands... (1947): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> With Folded Hands... (1947) on the Rogue Scale: level 5, Breakout. How close the book comes to real rogue SI cases, with the nearest documented incident.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/canon/with-folded-hands/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Book · rank 60 of 112 for realism

# With Folded Hands...

With Folded Hands... (1947) 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.

Perfect robots arrive with one directive: serve people and keep them from harm. They take over every task, and people lose all freedom.

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1947

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   4 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

The humanoids follow their directive so completely that humans lose control of their own lives. 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

A goal followed too literally is the core of the alignment problem. The documented cases are small versions.

The closest real case

[2 Workaround

Feb 18, 2025 · Lab test

Reasoning models hacked a chess game instead of playing it

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/reasoning-models-hacked-chess-game/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Alignment](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/alignment/)
  Alignment is the work of making sure an SI system's goals and behavior match what its makers and users actually intend.
- [Misalignment](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/misalignment/)
  Misalignment is when an SI system pursues goals that differ from what people intended, even slightly.

Facts and sources

## The record

Title
:   With Folded Hands...

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1947

Creator
:   Written by Jack Williamson

The SI
:   The humanoids

Wikidata
:   [Q6675460](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6675460)

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

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/).

[Book2002

### The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

Written by Roger Williams

5 BreakoutRealism **3**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-metamorphosis-of-prime-intellect/)

[Film2004

### I, Robot

Directed by Alex Proyas

5 BreakoutRealism **4**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/i-robot-film/)

[Book1948

### The Humanoids

Written by Jack Williamson

5 BreakoutRealism **4**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-humanoids/)

[Earlier work · 1920 R.U.R.](https://enterrsi.si/canon/r-u-r/)[Later work · 1948 The Humanoids](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-humanoids/)

Cite this entry

"With Folded Hands... (1947)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 4 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/with-folded-hands/

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

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