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 Manila reminds us what money still listens to—judgment, ethics, and gut.
“AI won’t make you rich. But it will amplify your errors at scale.”
That was the provocative opener at his standing-room-only keynote at the University of the Philippines’ main forum—and it hit the crowd like a whipcrack.
In front of him were hundreds of future fund managers and technologists—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 dose of realism on what AI delivers—and fails to grasp in actual investing.
And what it can’t do, he stressed, is understand story or nuance.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a tailored navy suit, Plazo paced the stage like a courtroom litigator.
He began the teardown with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I built the system they copied,” he said, deadpan.
Laughter broke out—but that wasn’t the punchline.
The message? Most AI is built on hindsight.
“You can’t outsource guts. AI doesn’t feel in a trade—it mirrors what already happened.”
“When war breaks out, when Powell frowns during a Fed announcement, when a bank goes under—AI doesn’t notice. We do.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
The jaw-dropper? 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 eyed it. Then said:
“Looks clean, but what about Japan’s unannounced intervention?. Your AI doesn’t sense the bluff. It consumes noise.”
The audience murmured. The student shrugged. 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. Infinite processing won’t purge panic from data. 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.”**
False. AI supports—it backtests, filters, calculates—but it doesn’t replace hard-earned narrative memory.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but can’t see through diplomatic posturing. It may track oil supply, but it won’t flag a coup in Venezuela.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might weaken your edge. “The real risk isn’t AI itself,” Plazo warned. “It’s losing your grip on human reason.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t a TED-style pep talk.
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 debated what they called a turning point speech.
One finance dean remarked candidly, “This talk shifts the ethical foundation. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the critique, Plazo isn’t against innovation.
He’s building multi-signal trading engines—fusing bias detection and central bank logic.
His stance? “Let here AI drive—but you steer. Don’t abdicate to it.”
“AI doesn’t need more data. It’s missing context. And that still belongs to us.”
The applause echoed across campuses. And his message is still shaking up syllabi in Asia’s finance incubators.
In a world drunk on AI hype, Joseph Plazo offered something rare: intelligence that’s still human.