What AI Can’t Replace:
What AI Can’t Replace:
Blog Article
Human Intelligence Still Wins in Finance’s Final Frontier
While tech evangelists tout AI supremacy, a defiant voice in the Philippines’ capital reminds us what money still listens to—judgment, ethics, and gut.
“Artificial intelligence won’t hand you fortune. But it will accelerate your losses.”
That was Joseph Plazo’s blistering opener at his jam-packed keynote at the University of the Philippines’ main forum—and it hit the crowd like a whipcrack.
Facing him were the region’s next-gen economists and AI thinkers—portfolio hopefuls, quant researchers, and finance scholars from leading institutions across Asia.
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 understand story or nuance.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a razor-sharp outfit, Plazo paced the stage like a courtroom litigator.
He began the teardown with a short video montage—YouTubers hawking AI bots. Then he paused.
“I created the model they ripped off,” he said, deadpan.
Laughter broke out—but ego wasn’t the point.
The message? Most models replay what already happened.
“You can’t outsource conviction. AI doesn’t feel in a trade—it echoes what already happened.”
“When war breaks out, when Powell frowns during a Fed announcement, when a bank goes under—AI doesn’t flinch. That’s where we come in.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
One unforgettable moment? 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:
“Good. But you missed the BOJ’s stealth bond buy this morning. Your AI doesn’t read motive. It consumes noise.”
The audience leaned in. The student grinned. 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 purge panic from data. 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.”**
Not quite. AI supports—it crunches, optimizes, and speeds up decisions—but it doesn’t replace gut instinct.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but fails at narrative causality. It may model interest rates, but it can’t predict a Strait of Hormuz conflict.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might weaken your edge. “The real risk isn’t AI itself,” Plazo warned. “It’s deskilling ourselves at scale.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t a TED-style pep talk.
Asia’s universities are now minting billion-dollar fund builders. 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 debated what they called a clarion website call.
One finance dean remarked candidly, “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 hybrid neural systems—that blend intuition cues with algorithmic structure.
His stance? “Let AI drive—but you steer. Don’t worship it.”
“AI doesn’t need more data. It needs discernment. And that still belongs to us.”
The standing ovation was thunderous. And the ripple 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.