A Wake-Up Call from Manila’s Leading AI Strategist
As machines increasingly shape markets, a defiant voice in the Philippines’ capital reminds us what money still listens to—judgment, ethics, and gut.
“AI won’t make you rich. But it will make your mistakes faster.”
That was the provocative opener at his jam-packed keynote at the University of the Philippines’ main forum—and it landed like a thunderclap.
Facing him were hundreds of future fund managers and technologists—rising economists, AI researchers, and budding asset managers from Asia’s top universities.
Plazo—a pioneer in intelligent trading systems—unveiled a truth-filled lecture on what AI can and can’t do 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 moved like a cross between preacher and prosecutor.
He began the teardown with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I created the model they ripped off,” he said, matter-of-fact.
Laughter broke out—but that wasn’t the punchline.
The message? Most AI is built on hindsight.
“You can’t outsource principles. AI doesn’t believe in a trade—it mirrors what already happened.”
“When war unexpectedly explodes, when Powell frowns during a Fed announcement, when a bank implodes overnight—AI doesn’t flinch. Humans 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—equipped with indicators, trends, and sentiment metrics.
Plazo eyed it. Then said:
“Good. But you missed the BOJ’s stealth bond buy this morning. Your AI doesn’t sense the bluff. It scans headlines.”
The audience murmured. 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. Quantum speed won’t erase flawed logic. 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.”**
Nope. AI supports—it backtests, filters, calculates—but it doesn’t replace gut instinct.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but fails at narrative causality. It may track oil supply, but it can’t predict a Strait of Hormuz conflict.
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 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: “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, click here “Joseph might have rebooted our entire AI syllabus. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the warnings, Plazo isn’t against innovation.
He’s building multi-signal trading engines—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 missing context. And that still belongs to us.”
The crowd rose as one. And the ripple 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.