The Limits of AI in Investing:
The Limits of AI in Investing:
Blog Article
Joseph Plazo’s Hard Truths to Asia’s Next Generation of Investors
In an age of algorithmic promises, a unfiltered voice in Southeast Asia issues a sharp reminder what money still listens to—judgment, ethics, and gut.
“AI won’t make you rich. But it will amplify your errors at scale.”
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—CEO of a firm at the intersection of AI and capital—delivered a roadmap on what AI offers—and where it falls short in live-market investing.
And what it misses, he stressed, is replace your instinct.
### 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 opened fire with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I built the system they copied,” he said, matter-of-fact.
Laughter followed—but this wasn’t ego.
The message? Most AI is built on hindsight.
“You can’t outsource guts. AI doesn’t carry skin in a trade—it mirrors what already happened.”
“When war unexpectedly explodes, when Powell coughs during a Fed announcement, when a bank implodes overnight—AI stays blind. We do.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
The jaw-dropper? A live AI-vs-human trading duel.
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 sense the bluff. It scans headlines.”
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 can’t see through diplomatic posturing. It may model interest rates, website but it can’t predict a Strait of Hormuz conflict.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might make you duller. “The real risk isn’t AI itself,” Plazo warned. “It’s deskilling ourselves at scale.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t your average AI hype fest.
Asia’s universities are now minting billion-dollar fund builders. They’re asking: more code, or more conscience?
Plazo’s call: “Do both—but lead with the mind.”
In closed-door chats at Ateneo and a roundtable at AIM, professors debated what they called a clarion call.
One finance dean shared off-record, “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 models that read psychology as well as numbers—fusing bias detection and central bank logic.
His stance? “Co-pilot AI. 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.