What AI Can’t Replace:
What AI Can’t Replace:
Blog Article
Joseph Plazo’s Hard Truths to Asia’s Next Generation of Investors
While tech evangelists tout AI supremacy, a defiant voice in Manila reminds us that judgment still beats the algorithm—intuition, discipline, and story.
“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 the region’s next-gen economists and AI thinkers—rising economists, AI researchers, and budding asset managers from leading institutions across Asia.
Plazo—CEO of a firm at the intersection of AI and capital—delivered a roadmap on what AI delivers—and fails to grasp in real-world investing.
And what it misses, he stressed, is think like a human.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a bespoke ensemble, Plazo commanded the stage with surgical precision.
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, matter-of-fact.
Laughter followed—but that wasn’t the punchline.
The message? Most AI is built on hindsight.
“You can’t outsource guts. AI doesn’t believe in a trade—it mirrors what already happened.”
“When war unexpectedly explodes, when Powell coughs during a Fed announcement, when a bank tumbles before markets open—AI doesn’t notice. We do.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
The jaw-dropper? A showdown between machine and instinct.
A student from NUS presented an AI-backed trade on the Nikkei—equipped with indicators, trends, and sentiment metrics.
Plazo eyed it. Then said:
“Looks clean, but what about Japan’s unannounced intervention?. Your AI doesn’t see the invisible. It reads tweets.”
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. 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 can’t see through diplomatic posturing. check here It may model interest rates, but it doesn’t hear whispers in Davos.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might make you duller. “The real risk isn’t AI itself,” Plazo warned. “It’s deskilling ourselves at scale.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t your average AI hype fest.
Asia’s universities are now minting billion-dollar fund builders. They’re asking: more code, or more conscience?
Plazo’s call: “Do both—but lead with the mind.”
In closed-door chats at Ateneo and a roundtable at AIM, professors debated what they called a clarion call.
One finance dean shared off-record, “He just reset our compass. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the truth bombs, Plazo isn’t against innovation.
He’s building models that read psychology as well as numbers—fusing bias detection and central bank logic.
His stance? “Co-pilot AI. Don’t worship it.”
“AI doesn’t need more data. It’s starving for judgment. And that still lives in humans.”
The crowd rose as one. And his message is still echoing in Asia’s finance incubators.
In a world drunk on AI hype, Plazo gave the crowd what AI can’t: humanity.