Amid the warm Manila breeze, in a university hall buzzing with intellect, Joseph Plazo laid down the gauntlet on what AI can and cannot achieve 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 furiously taking notes, others streaming the moment live—waited for a man revered for blending code with contrarianism.
“AI will make trades for you,” he said with gravity. “But it won’t teach you why to believe in them.”
Over the next sixty minutes, Plazo delivered a fast-paced masterclass, 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 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 a rising cult of algorithmic faith,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, an Oxford visiting fellow. “We need this kind of discomfort in academia.”
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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 detects movements, but misses motives.”
He cited examples like machine-driven funds failing to respond to COVID 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 check here 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, regional leaders backed Plazo’s call. “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. “Capital still requires conviction.”
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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.