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 bold voice in Southeast Asia issues a sharp reminder 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—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 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 started boldly 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? AI is retrospective, not prophetic.

“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 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 nodded thoughtfully. Then said:

“Looks clean, but what about Japan’s unannounced intervention?. Your AI doesn’t see the invisible. It scans headlines.”

The audience shifted. The student shrugged. 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 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 decodes read more trends, but doesn’t grasp geopolitics. It may track oil supply, but it won’t flag a coup in Venezuela.

3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might lure you into dependency. “The danger isn’t in trusting AI,” Plazo warned. “It’s losing your grip on human reason.”

### Why Asia Paid Close Attention

This wasn’t just another keynote.

Asia’s universities are now home to finance’s future titans. 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 wrestled with what they called a turning point speech.

One finance dean privately told Forbes, “This talk shifts the ethical foundation. Not magic—mirror.”

### The Future AI Can Build

Despite the warnings, Plazo isn’t a luddite.

He’s building multi-signal trading engines—that blend intuition cues with algorithmic structure.

His stance? “Let AI drive—but you steer. 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.