In a packed amphitheater at the University of the Philippines, Joseph Plazo laid down the gauntlet on what technology can realistically offer for the world of investing—and why that distinction matters now more than ever.
The air was charged with anticipation. Young scholars—some clutching notebooks, others broadcasting to friends across Asia—waited for a man both celebrated and controversial in AI circles.
“Algorithms can execute,” Plazo began, calm but direct. “It won’t tell you when not to trust them.”
Over the next sixty minutes, he took the audience from Silicon Valley to Shanghai, intertwining machine logic with human flaws. His central claim: AI is brilliant, but blind.
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Top Students Meet a Tough Truth
Before him sat students and faculty from prestigious universities across Asia, assembled under a pan-Asian finance forum.
Many expected a victory lap of AI's dominance. Instead, they got a reality check.
“There’s a growing religion around AI,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, guest faculty from Europe. “Plazo’s words were uncomfortable—but essential.”
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Why AI Still Doesn’t Get It
Plazo’s core thesis was both simple and unsettling: code can’t read between the lines.
“AI doesn’t panic—but it doesn’t anticipate,” he warned. “It finds trends, but not intentions.”
He cited examples like machine-driven funds failing to respond to COVID Joseph Plazo news, noting, “By the time the algorithms adjusted, the humans were already positioned.”
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The Astronomer Analogy
Rather than dismiss AI, Plazo proposed a partnership.
“AI is the vehicle—but you decide the direction,” he said. It works—but doesn’t wonder.
Students pressed him on behavioral economics, to which Plazo acknowledged: “Yes, it can scan Twitter sentiment—but it can’t feel a market’s pulse.”
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The Ripple Effect on a Digital Generation
The talk left a mark.
“I thought AI could replace intuition,” said Lee Min-Seo, a finance student from Seoul. “Now I see it’s judgment, not just data, that matters.”
In a post-talk panel, tech mentors agreed with his sentiment. “They’ve been raised by data—but instinct,” said Dr. Raymond Tan, “is only half the story.”
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Co-Intelligence: Merging Math with Meaning
Plazo shared that his firm is building “hybrid cognition models”—AI that pairs statistical logic with situational nuance.
“Only you can judge character,” he reminded. “Belief isn’t programmable.”
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The Speech That Started a Thousand Debates
As Plazo exited the stage, the crowd rose. But more importantly, they lingered.
“I came for machine learning,” said a PhD candidate. “But I got a lesson in human insight.”
And maybe that’s the real power of AI’s limits: they force us to rediscover our own.