What AI Can’t Do: A Manila Lecture Shakes the Finance World
What AI Can’t Do: A Manila Lecture Shakes the Finance World
Blog Article
In a packed amphitheater at the University of the Philippines, renowned AI investor Joseph Plazo laid down the gauntlet on what AI can and cannot achieve for the future of finance—and why understanding this may define who wins in tomorrow’s markets.
Tension and curiosity pulsed through the room. Students—some furiously taking notes, others capturing every word via livestream—waited for a man revered for blending code with contrarianism.
“Machines will execute trades flawlessly,” he said with gravity. “But understanding the why—that’s still on you.”
Over the next hour, he swept across global tech frontiers, touching on everything from quantum computing to cognitive bias. His central claim: Artificial intelligence is impressive—but it lacks soul.
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The Audience: Elite, Curious—and Disarmed
Before him sat students and faculty from a multi-nation academic alliance, gathered under a technology consortium.
Many expected a celebration of AI's dominance. Instead, they got a reality check.
“There’s too much blind trust in code,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, a respected AI ethicist from the UK. “Plazo’s words were uncomfortable—but essential.”
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When Algorithms Miss the Mark
Plazo’s core thesis was both simple and unsettling: machines lack context.
“AI is fearless, but also clueless,” he warned. “It detects movements, but misses motives.”
He cited examples like AI systems freezing during the 2020 pandemic declaration, noting, “AI lagged—while humans had already hedged.”
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Wisdom in a World of Code
Plazo didn’t argue against AI—but for boundaries.
“AI is the telescope—but you are still the astronomer,” he said. It analyzes—but lacks awareness.
Students pressed him on AI in news and social chatter, to which Plazo acknowledged: “Of course, it parses language patterns—but it can’t smell fear in a boardroom.”
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Asia Reflects: From Tech Worship to Tech Wisdom
The talk hit hard.
“I thought AI could replace intuition,” said Lee Min-Seo, a finance student from Seoul. “Now I see it’s judgment, not just data, that matters.”
In here a post-talk panel, regional leaders backed Plazo’s call. “These kids speak machine natively—but instinct,” said Dr. Raymond Tan, “doesn’t replace perspective.”
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The Future Isn’t Autonomous—It’s Collaborative
Plazo shared that his firm is building “symbiotic systems”—AI that understands not just volatility, but motive.
“Only you can judge character,” he reminded. “Belief isn’t programmable.”
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The Speech That Started a Thousand Debates
As Plazo exited the stage, students applauded. But more importantly, they stayed behind.
“I came for machine learning,” said a PhD candidate. “But I got a lesson in human insight.”
And maybe that’s the real power of AI’s limits: they force us to rediscover our own.