# A Ban on Recursive Self-Improvement May Not Be Enough by Sam Altman > “I think it's very hard to say what a ban on recursive self-improvement means. I also think it probably wouldn't be enough.” > **— Sam Altman**, *Fortune interview, September 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Timecoded episode recording:** [*The Ezra Klein Show* at 25:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjZ90V_JREk&t=1521s) — recording and precise locator for the source object preserved in this Reminder. - **Additional source:** [Fortune interview](https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/trump-xi-jinping-nobel-peace-prize-us-china-treaty-ai-development-openai-sam-altman/) — primary or contemporaneous material supporting the embedded statement or report. - **Reconciled source dossier:** [[research/Why Are We Sprinting Off the AI Cliff - Ezra Klein on Recursive Self-Improvement|Why Are We Sprinting Off the AI Cliff?]] — preserves broadcast order, speaker attribution, editorial conventions and the surrounding argument. - **Editorial treatment:** The poster text follows the reconciled source object without substantive alteration; spoken punctuation and transcript lineation are normalized for reading. - **Context:** Altman says both the definition and sufficiency of a recursive-self-improvement ban remain difficult. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen|Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower]] - **Article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] - **Article:** [[articles/AI-Tech Doomerism and Anti-Science Panic|AI-Tech Doomerism and Anti-Science Panic]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Sam Altman|Sam Altman]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Sam Altman|Sam Altman]] - [[wiki/Recursive-AI Prohibition|Recursive-AI Prohibition]] - [[wiki/Recursive Self-Improvement|Recursive Self-Improvement]] - [[wiki/AI Governance|AI Governance]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “I think it's very hard to say what a ban on recursive self-improvement means. I also think it probably wouldn't be enough.” — Sam Altman, Fortune interview, September 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-sam-altman-ban-recursive-self-improvement-not-enough ```