# I. J. Good **Entity class:** Person / mathematician and computer scientist **Relevant publication:** “Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine,” *Advances in Computers* 6 (1965) ## Definition I. J. Good described an “ultraintelligent machine” whose capacity to design better machines could initiate an intelligence explosion. The proposition is a recursively improving design argument, not evidence that such a machine existed in 1965. ## Relationships - **Authored argument:** “Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine” (1965) introduced the intelligence-explosion formulation reproduced by [[wiki/Vernor Vinge|Vernor Vinge]] in [[wiki/The Coming Technological Singularity|his 1993 paper]]. - **Conceptual routes:** [[wiki/Singularity|Singularity]] and [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] distinguish recursive machine design from a demonstrated historical transition. - **Collection and article routes:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] and [[articles/AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor|AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor]]. ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > "Recursive self-improvement means using AI agents to conduct AI research, closing the loop in both AI-software and AI-hardware design. The idea goes back a long way. In 1965, I. J. Good wrote about the possibility of an intelligence explosion and said that an ultraintelligent machine might be the last invention humanity ever needs to make. The reason is that, when we train AI systems that can conduct AI research, we close the loop and reach the point where AI builds better AI." > **— Vishal Maini**, *Palisade Research interview, September 29, 2026* [[reminders/Machine Succession/Recursive Self-Improvement Begins When AI Builds Better AI by Vishal Maini|Recursive Self-Improvement Begins When AI Builds Better AI by Vishal Maini]]