What AI Can’t Replace:
What AI Can’t Replace:
Blog Article
A Wake-Up Call from Manila’s Leading AI Strategist
As machines increasingly shape markets, a bold voice in the Philippines’ capital issues a sharp reminder that judgment still beats the algorithm—judgment, ethics, and gut.
“AI won’t make you rich. But it will accelerate your losses.”
That was Joseph Plazo’s provocative opener at his overflowing keynote at the University of the Philippines’ main forum—and it landed like a thunderclap.
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—a pioneer in intelligent trading systems—unveiled a truth-filled lecture on what AI delivers—and fails to grasp in live-market 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 tailored navy suit, Plazo paced the stage like a courtroom litigator.
He started boldly 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, dryly.
Laughter followed—but ego wasn’t the point.
The message? AI is retrospective, not prophetic.
“You can’t outsource guts. AI doesn’t feel in a trade—it reacts what already happened.”
“When war unexpectedly explodes, when Powell slips during a Fed announcement, when a bank goes under—AI stays blind. We do.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
The highlight of the talk? 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 studied it. Then said:
“Good. But you missed the BOJ’s stealth bond buy this morning. Your AI doesn’t see the invisible. It consumes noise.”
The audience leaned in. The student shrugged. here 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 panic on steroids.”
### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes
1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
False. AI augments—it crunches, optimizes, and speeds up decisions—but it doesn’t replace hard-earned narrative memory.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI decodes trends, but can’t see through diplomatic posturing. It may model interest rates, but it won’t flag a coup in Venezuela.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might lure you into dependency. “The real risk isn’t AI itself,” Plazo warned. “It’s in forgetting how to think without it.”
### 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: “Code, but think critically.”
In closed-door chats at Ateneo and a roundtable at AIM, professors absorbed what they called a turning point speech.
One finance dean shared off-record, “He just reset our compass. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the critique, Plazo isn’t a luddite.
He’s building models that read psychology as well as numbers—fusing bias detection and central bank logic.
His stance? “Ride with it. Don’t go on autopilot.”
“AI doesn’t need more data. It’s starving for judgment. And that still lives in humans.”
The applause echoed across campuses. And the ripple is still moving in Asia’s finance incubators.
In a world drunk on AI hype, he delivered the one thing no model ever could—wisdom.