Human Intelligence Still Wins in Finance’s Final Frontier

In an age of algorithmic promises, a bold voice in Southeast Asia issues a sharp reminder that money still bends to human instinct—judgment, ethics, and gut.

“Artificial intelligence won’t hand you fortune. But it will amplify your errors at scale.”

That was Joseph Plazo’s blistering opener at his jam-packed keynote at the University of the Philippines’ amphitheater—and it drew audible gasps from the audience.

In front of him were Asia’s brightest young minds—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 can and can’t do in actual investing.

And what it can’t do, he stressed, is understand story or nuance.

### 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 began the teardown with a short video montage—YouTubers hawking AI bots. Then he paused.

“I created the model they ripped off,” he said, matter-of-fact.

Laughter broke out—but that wasn’t the punchline.

The message? Most models replay what already happened.

“You can’t outsource principles. AI doesn’t believe in a trade—it mirrors what already happened.”

“When war unexpectedly explodes, when Powell coughs during a Fed announcement, when a bank tumbles before markets open—AI doesn’t notice. We do.”

### The Students Who Challenged Him—and Got Schooled

The jaw-dropper? A live AI-vs-human trading duel.

A student from NUS presented an AI-backed trade on the Nikkei—equipped with indicators, trends, and sentiment metrics.

Plazo nodded thoughtfully. Then said:

“Looks clean, but what about Japan’s unannounced intervention?. Your AI doesn’t see the invisible. It scans headlines.”

The audience shifted. 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. Infinite processing won’t fix human incentives. Train an AI on fear, more info and it’ll become a chaos machine.”

### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes

1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
Not quite. AI assists—it backtests, filters, calculates—but it doesn’t replace hard-earned narrative memory.

2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI reads tables, but fails at narrative causality. It may track oil supply, but it can’t predict a Strait of Hormuz conflict.

3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might weaken your edge. “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 launching the next generation of quant leaders. 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 debated what they called a sobering perspective.

One finance dean remarked candidly, “Joseph might have rebooted our entire AI syllabus. Not magic—mirror.”

### The Future AI Can Build

Despite the critique, Plazo isn’t anti-AI.

He’s building hybrid neural systems—integrating macro signals and crowd psychology.

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

“It’s not starving for stats. It’s starving for judgment. And that still can’t be coded.”

The applause echoed across campuses. And that jolt of insight is still shaking up syllabi in Asia’s elite universities.

In a world drunk on AI hype, he delivered the one thing no model ever could—wisdom.