The Limits of AI in Investing:
The Limits of AI in Investing:
Blog Article
A Wake-Up Call from Manila’s Leading AI Strategist
In an age of algorithmic promises, a bold voice in Southeast Asia issues a sharp reminder that money still bends to human instinct—conscience, context, and conviction.
“AI isn’t your golden ticket. But it will make your mistakes faster.”
That was the provocative opener at his standing-room-only keynote at the University of the Philippines’ academic hall—and it landed like a thunderclap.
Before him were hundreds of future fund managers and technologists—rising economists, AI researchers, and budding asset managers 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 replace your instinct.
### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence
Dressed in a tailored navy suit, Plazo moved like a cross between preacher and prosecutor.
He opened fire with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. Then he paused.
“I built the system they copied,” he said, dryly.
The crowd chuckled—but this wasn’t ego.
The message? AI is retrospective, not prophetic.
“You can’t outsource conviction. AI doesn’t feel in a trade—it reacts what already happened.”
“When war breaks out, when Powell frowns 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 more info doesn’t read motive. It consumes noise.”
The audience murmured. The student bowed slightly. 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 panic on steroids.”
### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes
1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
Nope. AI augments—it crunches, optimizes, and speeds up decisions—but it doesn’t replace hard-earned narrative memory.
2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but doesn’t grasp geopolitics. It may model interest rates, but it doesn’t hear whispers in Davos.
3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might lure you into dependency. “AI won’t kill you—but your laziness might,” Plazo warned. “It’s deskilling ourselves at scale.”
### Why Asia Paid Close Attention
This wasn’t a TED-style pep talk.
Asia’s universities are now home to finance’s future titans. They’re asking: more code, or more conscience?
Plazo’s call: “Do both—but lead with the mind.”
In closed-door chats at Ateneo and a roundtable at AIM, professors debated what they called a clarion call.
One finance dean remarked candidly, “He just reset our compass. Not magic—mirror.”
### The Future AI Can Build
Despite the critique, Plazo isn’t anti-AI.
He’s building models that read psychology as well as numbers—integrating macro signals and crowd psychology.
His stance? “Co-pilot AI. Don’t abdicate to it.”
“It’s not starving for stats. It needs discernment. And that still belongs to us.”
The standing ovation was thunderous. And his message is still echoing in Asia’s elite universities.
In a world drunk on AI hype, he delivered the one thing no model ever could—wisdom.