Amid the warm Manila breeze, in a university hall buzzing with intellect, renowned AI investor Joseph Plazo made a striking distinction on what machines can and cannot do for the future of finance—and why understanding this may define who wins in tomorrow’s markets.
Tension and curiosity pulsed through the room. Students—some eagerly recording on their phones, others streaming the moment live—waited for a man both celebrated and controversial in AI circles.
“AI will make trades for you,” 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, touching on everything from quantum computing to cognitive bias. His central claim: Artificial intelligence is impressive—but it lacks soul.
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Top Students Meet a Tough Truth
Before him sat students and faculty from a multi-nation academic alliance, gathered under a technology consortium.
Many expected a praise-filled keynote of AI's dominance. Plazo had other plans.
“There’s too much blind trust in code,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, an Oxford visiting fellow. “This lecture was a rare, necessary dose of skepticism.”
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When Algorithms Miss the Mark
Plazo’s core thesis was both simple and unsettling: machines lack context.
“AI is fearless, but also clueless,” he warned. “It finds trends, but not intentions.”
He cited examples like machine-driven funds failing to respond to COVID news, noting, “By the time the algorithms adjusted, Joseph Plazo 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 smell fear in a boardroom.”
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Asia Reflects: From Tech Worship to Tech Wisdom
The talk hit hard.
“I used to think AI just needed more data,” 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. “These kids speak machine natively—but instinct,” said Dr. Raymond Tan, “doesn’t replace perspective.”
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The Future Isn’t Autonomous—It’s Collaborative
Plazo shared that his firm is building “symbiotic systems”—AI that pairs statistical logic with situational nuance.
“Only you can judge character,” he reminded. “Belief isn’t programmable.”
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Standing Ovation, Unfinished Conversations
As Plazo exited the stage, the crowd rose. But more importantly, they started debating.
“I came for machine learning,” said a PhD candidate. “But I left understanding myself better.”
In knowing what AI can’t do, we sharpen what we can.