A Wake-Up Call from Manila’s Leading AI Strategist
As machines increasingly shape markets, a bold voice in the Philippines’ capital issues a sharp reminder that judgment still beats the algorithm—judgment, ethics, and gut.
“AI won’t make you rich. But it will accelerate your losses.”
That was Joseph Plazo’s provocative opener at his overflowing keynote at the University of the Philippines’ main forum—and it landed like a thunderclap.
In front of him were hundreds of future fund managers and technologists—rising economists, AI researchers, and budding asset managers from leading institutions across Asia.
Plazo—a pioneer in intelligent trading systems—delivered a dose of realism on what AI offers—and where it falls short in live-market investing.
And what it still lacks, he stressed, is think like a human.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a tailored navy suit, Plazo paced the stage like a courtroom litigator.
He opened fire with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I engineered what they now sell as magic,” he said, dryly.
Laughter followed—but ego wasn’t the point.
The message? AI is retrospective, not prophetic.
“You can’t outsource guts. AI doesn’t believe in a trade—it reacts what already happened.”
“When war unexpectedly explodes, when Powell slips during a Fed announcement, when a bank goes under—AI stays blind. We do.”
### 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—equipped with indicators, trends, and sentiment metrics.
Plazo eyed it. Then said:
“Solid—but blind to central bank footprints. Your AI doesn’t sense the bluff. It reads tweets.”
The audience murmured. 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. Infinite processing won’t fix human incentives. 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.”**
Not quite. AI assists—it backtests, filters, calculates—but it doesn’t see through fog-of-war events.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but fails at narrative causality. It may track oil supply, but it doesn’t hear whispers in Davos.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might make you duller. “AI won’t kill you—but your laziness might,” Plazo warned. “It’s losing your more info grip on human reason.”
### 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: “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, “He just reset our compass. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the critique, Plazo isn’t a luddite.
He’s building models that read psychology as well as numbers—fusing bias detection and central bank logic.
His stance? “Ride with it. Don’t go on autopilot.”
“It’s not starving for stats. It needs discernment. And that still lives in humans.”
The crowd rose as one. And that jolt of insight is still moving in Asia’s halls of learning.
In a world drunk on AI hype, Plazo gave the crowd what AI can’t: humanity.