What AI Can’t Replace:
What AI Can’t Replace:
Blog Article
Human Intelligence Still Wins in Finance’s Final Frontier
In an age of algorithmic promises, a defiant voice in Southeast Asia reminds us what money still listens to—conscience, context, and conviction.
“Artificial intelligence won’t hand you fortune. But it will amplify your errors at scale.”
That was the blistering opener at his standing-room-only keynote at the University of the Philippines’ amphitheater—and it hit the crowd like a whipcrack.
Before him were Asia’s brightest young minds—portfolio hopefuls, quant researchers, and finance scholars from Asia’s top universities.
Plazo—CEO of a firm at the intersection of AI and capital—unveiled a truth-filled lecture on what AI delivers—and fails to grasp in real-world investing.
And what it can’t do, 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 started boldly with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I created the model they ripped off,” 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 studied it. Then said:
“Good. But you missed the BOJ’s stealth bond buy this morning. Your AI doesn’t see the invisible. It consumes noise.”
The audience leaned in. 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. Quantum speed won’t purge panic from data. Train an AI on fear, and it’ll become panic on steroids.”
### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes
1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
False. AI augments—it crunches, optimizes, and speeds up decisions—but it doesn’t replace hard-earned narrative memory.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI decodes trends, but can’t see through diplomatic posturing. It may model interest rates, but it won’t flag a coup in Venezuela.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might lure you into dependency. “The real risk isn’t AI itself,” 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 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 multi-signal trading engines—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 applause echoed across campuses. And that jolt of insight is still moving in Asia’s finance incubators.
In a world drunk on AI hype, click here he delivered the one thing no model ever could—wisdom.