The Limits of AI in Investing:
The Limits of AI in Investing:
Blog Article
Human Intelligence Still Wins in Finance’s Final Frontier
While tech evangelists tout AI supremacy, a defiant voice in Manila reminds us that judgment still beats the algorithm—intuition, discipline, and story.
“AI isn’t your golden ticket. But it will accelerate your losses.”
That was Joseph Plazo’s unapologetic opener at his overflowing keynote at the University of the Philippines’ amphitheater—and it drew audible gasps from the audience.
In front of him were Asia’s brightest young minds—rising economists, AI researchers, and budding asset managers from leading institutions across Asia.
Plazo—CEO of a firm at the intersection of AI and capital—delivered a dose of realism on what AI delivers—and fails to grasp in real-world investing.
And what it misses, he stressed, is think like a human.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a bespoke ensemble, Plazo commanded the stage with surgical precision.
He opened fire with a short video montage—social media influencers promising 90% win rates. Then he paused.
“I built the system they copied,” he said, dryly.
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 reacts what already happened.”
“When war unexpectedly explodes, when Powell coughs during a Fed announcement, when a bank implodes overnight—AI stays blind. Humans do.”
### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled
The highlight of the talk? 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 nodded thoughtfully. 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 shifted. The student shrugged. Then: applause.
Another moment: A robotics PhD here 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 a chaos machine.”
### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes
1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
False. AI assists—it backtests, filters, calculates—but it doesn’t replace hard-earned narrative memory.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but fails at narrative causality. It may track oil supply, but it won’t flag a coup in Venezuela.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might weaken your edge. “AI won’t kill you—but your laziness might,” Plazo warned. “It’s in forgetting how to think without it.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t just another keynote.
Asia’s universities are now launching the next generation of quant leaders. They’re asking: more code, or more conscience?
Plazo’s call: “Harness tech, but stay human.”
In closed-door chats at Ateneo and a roundtable at AIM, professors absorbed what they called a sobering perspective.
One finance dean privately told Forbes, “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—that blend intuition cues with algorithmic structure.
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 standing ovation was thunderous. And the ripple is still shaking up syllabi in Asia’s halls of learning.
In a world drunk on AI hype, Joseph Plazo offered something rare: intelligence that’s still human.