A Wake-Up Call from Manila’s Leading AI Strategist

While tech evangelists tout AI supremacy, a defiant voice in the Philippines’ capital 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 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—venture strategist, AI architect, and CEO of Plazo Sullivan Roche—delivered a dose of realism on what AI delivers—and fails to grasp in actual investing.

And what it still lacks, he stressed, is think like a human.

### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence

Dressed in a razor-sharp outfit, Plazo paced the stage like a courtroom litigator.

He started boldly with a short video montage—social media influencers promising 90% win rates. Then he paused.

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

The crowd chuckled—but ego wasn’t the point.

The message? AI is retrospective, not prophetic.

“You can’t outsource conviction. AI doesn’t feel in a trade—it echoes 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—technically solid, sentiment-scanned, and data-rich.

Plazo studied 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 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. Quantum speed won’t erase flawed logic. 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 augments—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 doesn’t grasp geopolitics. It may track oil supply, but it doesn’t hear whispers in Davos.

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 debated what they called a sobering perspective.

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 check here hybrid neural systems—fusing bias detection and central bank logic.

His stance? “Ride with it. Don’t abdicate to it.”

“AI doesn’t need more data. It’s starving for judgment. And that still lives in humans.”

The crowd rose as one. And his message is still echoing in Asia’s finance incubators.

In a world drunk on AI hype, Plazo gave the crowd what AI can’t: humanity.