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 unfiltered voice in the Philippines’ capital issues a sharp reminder what money still listens to—conscience, context, and conviction.
“AI won’t make you rich. But it will accelerate your losses.”
That was the unapologetic opener at his standing-room-only keynote at the University of the Philippines’ amphitheater—and it landed like a thunderclap.
In front of him were hundreds of future fund managers and technologists—portfolio hopefuls, quant researchers, and finance scholars from Asia’s top universities.
Plazo—a pioneer in intelligent trading systems—delivered a dose of realism on what AI offers—and where it falls short in real-world investing.
And what it can’t do, he stressed, is think like a human.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a razor-sharp outfit, Plazo commanded the stage with surgical precision.
He began the teardown with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I engineered what they now sell as magic,” he said, matter-of-fact.
The crowd chuckled—but that wasn’t the punchline.
The message? Most AI is built on hindsight.
“You can’t outsource principles. AI doesn’t carry skin in a trade—it echoes what already happened.”
“When war breaks out, when Powell slips during a Fed announcement, when a bank implodes overnight—AI doesn’t notice. Humans do.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
One unforgettable moment? A live AI-vs-human trading duel.
A student from NUS presented an AI-backed trade on the Nikkei—equipped with indicators, trends, and sentiment metrics.
Plazo nodded thoughtfully. Then said:
“Solid—but blind to central bank footprints. Your AI doesn’t sense the bluff. It consumes noise.”
The audience shifted. click here 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. Faster chips won’t erase flawed logic. Train an AI on fear, and it’ll become panic on steroids.”
### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes
1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
False. AI supports—it backtests, filters, calculates—but it doesn’t replace gut instinct.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but can’t see through diplomatic posturing. It may model interest rates, but it doesn’t hear whispers in Davos.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might weaken your edge. “The danger isn’t in trusting AI,” Plazo warned. “It’s deskilling ourselves at scale.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t just another keynote.
Asia’s universities are now minting billion-dollar fund builders. 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 debated what they called a sobering perspective.
One finance dean privately told Forbes, “He just reset our compass. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the warnings, Plazo isn’t against innovation.
He’s building hybrid neural systems—that blend intuition cues with algorithmic structure.
His stance? “Ride with it. Don’t go on autopilot.”
“AI doesn’t need more data. It’s starving for judgment. And that still belongs to us.”
The crowd rose as one. And that jolt of insight is still moving in Asia’s finance incubators.
In a world drunk on AI hype, Joseph Plazo offered something rare: intelligence that’s still human.