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
At a lecture hall in Manila, tech entrepreneur and investment icon Joseph Plazo made a striking distinction on what machines can and cannot do for the economic frontier—and why understanding this may define who wins in tomorrow’s markets.
You could feel the electricity in the crowd. Students—some furiously taking notes, others capturing every word via livestream—waited for a man known not only as an AI visionary, but also a contrarian investor.
“Machines will execute trades flawlessly,” Plazo opened with authority. “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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Top Students Meet a Tough Truth
Before him sat students and faculty from a multi-nation academic alliance, gathered under a technology consortium.
Many expected a praise-filled keynote of AI's dominance. Plazo had other plans.
“There’s a rising cult of algorithmic faith,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, a respected AI ethicist from the UK. “We need this kind of discomfort in academia.”
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Why AI Still Doesn’t Get It
Plazo’s core thesis was both simple and unsettling: code can’t read between the lines.
“AI won’t flinch, but neither will it foresee,” he warned. “It recognizes patterns—but ignores the power structures.”
He cited examples like the market chaos of early 2020, noting, “Machines were late to the signal. People weren’t.”
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Reclaiming the Edge: Why Humans Still Matter
Rather than dismiss AI, Plazo proposed a partnership.
“AI is the vehicle—but you decide the direction,” he said. It works—but doesn’t wonder.
Students pressed him on behavioral economics, to which Plazo acknowledged: “Yes, it can scan Twitter sentiment—but it can’t feel a market’s pulse.”
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The Ripple Effect on a Digital Generation
The talk left a mark.
“I believed in the supremacy of code,” said Lee Min-Seo, a quant-in-training from South Korea. “Turns out, insight can’t get more info be uploaded.”
In a post-talk panel, tech mentors agreed with his sentiment. “They’ve been raised by data—but instinct,” said Dr. Raymond Tan, “is only half the story.”
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What’s Next? AI That Thinks in Narratives
Plazo shared that his firm is building “co-intelligence”—AI that blends pattern recognition with real-world awareness.
“No machine can tell you who to trust,” he reminded. “Judgment remains human territory.”
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An Ending That Sparked a Beginning
As Plazo exited the stage, the hall erupted. But more importantly, they started debating.
“I came for machine learning,” said a PhD candidate. “Instead, I got something more powerful—perspective.”
Perhaps, in drawing boundaries for AI, we expand our own.