The Limits of AI in Investing:

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 that money still bends to human instinct—conscience, context, and conviction.

“AI won’t make you rich. But it will amplify your errors at scale.”

That was the 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 hundreds of future fund managers and technologists—portfolio hopefuls, quant researchers, and finance scholars 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 live-market 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 paced the stage like a courtroom litigator.

He began the teardown with a short video montage—YouTubers hawking AI bots. Then he paused.

“I engineered what they now sell as magic,” he said, deadpan.

Laughter broke out—but ego wasn’t the point.

The message? Most models replay what already happened.

“You can’t outsource principles. AI doesn’t feel in a trade—it echoes what already happened.”

“When war erupts, when Powell slips during a Fed announcement, when a bank goes under—AI doesn’t flinch. That’s where we come in.”

### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled

One unforgettable moment? A showdown between machine and instinct.

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 read motive. It consumes noise.”

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. Quantum speed won’t purge panic from data. 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 crunches, optimizes, and speeds up decisions—but it doesn’t see through fog-of-war events.

2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI interprets numbers, but can’t see through diplomatic posturing. It may model interest rates, but it can’t predict a Strait of Hormuz conflict.

3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might make you duller. “AI won’t kill you—but your laziness might,” Plazo warned. here “It’s deskilling ourselves at scale.”

### Why Asia Paid Close Attention

This wasn’t a TED-style pep talk.

Asia’s universities are now launching the next generation of quant leaders. 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 sobering perspective.

One finance dean remarked candidly, “Joseph might have rebooted our entire AI syllabus. Not magic—mirror.”

### The Future AI Can Build

Despite the critique, Plazo isn’t anti-AI.

He’s building multi-signal trading engines—integrating macro signals and crowd psychology.

His stance? “Let AI drive—but you steer. Don’t go on autopilot.”

“It’s not starving for stats. It’s missing context. And that still can’t be coded.”

The applause echoed across campuses. And that jolt of insight is still shaking up syllabi in Asia’s elite universities.

In a world drunk on AI hype, Joseph Plazo offered something rare: intelligence that’s still human.