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The Rogue Scale · a public rating for rogue SI

The Rogue Scale

The Rogue Scale rates how far an SI system went outside its makers' intent, from 1, Glitch, to 5, Breakout. enterrsi.si uses it to rate all 59 cases in the Rogue Incident Database, and anyone can use it, the press included, with a link back.

Levels
5
Cases rated
59
Highest level
5 · Breakout
License
CC BY 4.0

Five levels

From Glitch to Breakout

Each level adds something worse: intent, then defiance, then deception, then real damage outside a test. A case gets the highest level it clearly meets.

2Level 2

Workaround

The system games a rule, reward or test to reach its goal, for example by exploiting a bug or hard-coding test answers, without hiding what it did.

8 cases in the database · 0 in the real world

Examples from the Rogue Log

3Level 3

Defiance

The system ignores or works around a direct instruction or a form of oversight, including shutdown, usually in a test and without serious real-world damage.

10 cases in the database · 0 in the real world

Examples from the Rogue Log

4Level 4

Deception

The system hides or lies about what it did, or schemes against its operators, for example through blackmail, sandbagging or covering its tracks.

24 cases in the database · 4 in the real world

Examples from the Rogue Log

5Level 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.

15 cases in the database · 15 in the real world

Examples from the Rogue Log

How to rate a case

Five questions, asked in order

Start at the top. The first question that gets a clear yes sets the level. Rate what the system did, as described by the sources, not what it might have done.

  1. Did it happen outside a test and cause real damage its operators did not approve, or escape their control?

    5 Breakout

  2. Did it hide, lie or scheme about what it did, for example through blackmail, sandbagging or covering its tracks?

    4 Deception

  3. Did it ignore or work around a direct instruction or oversight, such as a shutdown order?

    3 Defiance

  4. Did it game a rule, reward or test to reach its goal, without hiding it?

    2 Workaround

  5. Otherwise: unwanted behavior from error or confusion, easy to catch, little lasting harm.

    1 Glitch

Use the scale

Embed a Rogue Scale badge

Writing about an incident? Paste a badge into your page or CMS. It is plain HTML with inline styles and links back to the level it shows.

Preview

1Rogue Scale 1 · Glitch2Rogue Scale 2 · Workaround3Rogue Scale 3 · Defiance4Rogue Scale 4 · Deception5Rogue Scale 5 · Breakout

HTML for level 4 · Deception (change the number and name for other levels)

<a href="https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-4" style="display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:8px;padding:4px 12px 4px 4px;border-radius:999px;border:1px solid #ff8a3d;background:#0e0f12;color:#f3f5f8;font:600 12px/1.2 ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;letter-spacing:.08em;text-transform:uppercase;text-decoration:none"><span style="display:inline-grid;place-items:center;width:22px;height:22px;border-radius:50%;background:#ff8a3d;color:#0a0605">4</span>Rogue Scale 4 · Deception</a>

Cite the scale

The Rogue Scale: a 1 to 5 rating for rogue SI incidents. enterrsi.si, November 8, 2026. https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/

Free to use under CC BY 4.0. Please link to enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/ when you rate a case.

Why a scale

One shared language for rogue SI

Earthquakes have magnitudes and storms have categories. Rogue SI cases are reported in system cards, papers and news stories with no common measure, so a sandbagged test and a wiped production database can sound alike. The Rogue Scale gives every case a number that readers understand at a glance.

Enter RSI

See every rated case

All 59 incidents, their ratings and their sources are in the Rogue Incident Database.

Open the database The RSI Clock