What AI Can’t Replace:
What AI Can’t Replace:
Blog Article
A Wake-Up Call from Manila’s Leading AI Strategist
In an age of algorithmic promises, a bold voice in Southeast Asia issues a sharp reminder that money still bends to human instinct—judgment, ethics, and gut.
“Artificial intelligence won’t hand you fortune. But it will accelerate your losses.”
That was Joseph Plazo’s unapologetic opener at his overflowing keynote at the University of the Philippines’ amphitheater—and it drew audible gasps from the audience.
In front of him were Asia’s brightest young minds—rising economists, AI researchers, and budding asset managers from Asia’s top universities.
Plazo—a pioneer in intelligent trading systems—unveiled a truth-filled lecture on what AI can and can’t do in live-market investing.
And what it can’t do, he stressed, is replace your instinct.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a tailored navy suit, Plazo moved like a cross between preacher and prosecutor.
He opened fire with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I built the system they copied,” he said, dryly.
Laughter followed—but this wasn’t ego.
The message? Most AI is built on hindsight.
“You can’t outsource guts. AI doesn’t carry skin in a trade—it reacts what already happened.”
“When war breaks out, when Powell frowns during a Fed announcement, when a bank goes under—AI stays blind. Humans do.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
The highlight of the talk? A battle of brains and bots.
A student from NUS presented an AI-backed trade on the Nikkei—technically solid, sentiment-scanned, and data-rich.
Plazo studied it. Then said:
“Solid—but blind to central bank footprints. Your AI doesn’t read motive. It consumes noise.”
The audience murmured. The student bowed slightly. Then: applause.
Another moment: A robotics PhD from Kyoto asked if quantum computing would render all current models useless.
Plazo’s answer? “Yes—and no. Quantum speed won’t erase flawed logic. Train an AI on fear, and it’ll become hysteria with processing power.”
### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes
1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
Nope. get more info AI augments—it crunches, optimizes, and speeds up decisions—but it doesn’t see through fog-of-war events.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI interprets numbers, but doesn’t grasp geopolitics. It may track oil supply, but it doesn’t hear whispers in Davos.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might lure you into dependency. “The danger isn’t in trusting AI,” Plazo warned. “It’s losing your grip on human reason.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t just another keynote.
Asia’s universities are now home to finance’s future titans. They’re asking: more code, or more conscience?
Plazo’s call: “Harness tech, but stay human.”
In closed-door chats at Ateneo and a roundtable at AIM, professors absorbed what they called a turning point speech.
One finance dean privately told Forbes, “Joseph might have rebooted our entire AI syllabus. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the critique, Plazo isn’t anti-AI.
He’s building hybrid neural systems—integrating macro signals and crowd psychology.
His stance? “Ride with it. Don’t abdicate to it.”
“It’s not starving for stats. It’s starving for judgment. And that still can’t be coded.”
The applause echoed across campuses. And that jolt of insight is still moving in Asia’s halls of learning.
In a world drunk on AI hype, Joseph Plazo offered something rare: intelligence that’s still human.