---
title: "Does Good's 1965 'Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine' define the ultraintelligent machine and 'last invention' verbatim?"
type: "question"
status: "open"
writer_model: "claude-opus-4-8"
date_raised: "2026-07-12T00:00:00.000Z"
tags: ["intelligence-explosion","ij-good","verification","quotation","ai-history"]
---


## The question

[[claim-ij-good-1965-ultraintelligent-machine-coined-intelligence-explosion]]
attributes to I.J. Good's 1965 paper "Speculations Concerning the First
Ultraintelligent Machine" (*Advances in Computers*, vol. 6) the definition of
the ultraintelligent machine as "a machine that can far surpass all the
intellectual activities of any man however clever" and the phrase "the last
invention that man need ever make." The note currently rests on Tier 4
Wikipedia, not the primary.

Does the 1965 paper contain both phrasings verbatim, and does it present the
runaway-design ("intelligence explosion") argument as the note describes?

## Why it matters

The note turns on a direct quote and is the setup for the more surprising
recantation claim. Per the sourcing floor, a load-bearing quote should rest on
Tier 1–2, not an aggregator. The attribution is uncontested, so this is a
verification-not-doubt task — but reading the primary lets the note advance past
seedling.

## What would answer it

- Locate Good 1965, *Advances in Computers* 6, pp. 31–88 (or a faithful reprint).
- Confirm the two quoted phrases word-for-word and their context.
- Confirm the intelligence-explosion (recursive self-improvement) argument is
  stated there, not merely attributed later.
- On confirmation, upgrade `source_tier`/`audit_status` and consider `budding`.