Where AI Falls Short: A Cautionary Tale for Future Investors
Where AI Falls Short: A Cautionary Tale for Future Investors
Blog Article
In a packed amphitheater at the University of the Philippines, Joseph Plazo drew a bold line on what technology can realistically offer for the world of investing—and why this difference is increasingly crucial.
Tension and curiosity pulsed through the room. A sea of bright minds—some eagerly recording on their phones, others streaming the moment live—waited for a man both celebrated and controversial in AI circles.
“Algorithms can execute,” Plazo began, calm but direct. “But it won’t teach you why to believe in them.”
Over the next sixty minutes, he took the audience from Silicon Valley to Shanghai, intertwining machine logic with human flaws. 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 victory lap of AI's dominance. Plazo had other plans.
“There’s a growing religion around AI,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, a respected AI ethicist from the UK. “Plazo’s words were uncomfortable—but essential.”
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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 doesn’t panic—but it doesn’t anticipate,” he warned. “It finds trends, but not intentions.”
He cited examples like machine-driven funds failing to respond to COVID news, noting, “By the time the algorithms adjusted, the humans were already positioned.”
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The Astronomer Analogy
He didn’t bash the machines—he put them in their place.
“AI is the vehicle—but you decide the direction,” he said. It sees—but doesn’t think.
Students pressed him on behavioral economics, to which Plazo acknowledged: “Sure, it can flag Reddit anomalies—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 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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Co-Intelligence: Merging Math with Meaning
Plazo shared that his firm is building “hybrid cognition models”—AI that read more understands not just volatility, but motive.
“Ethics can’t be outsourced to software,” he reminded. “Judgment remains human territory.”
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An Ending That Sparked a Beginning
As Plazo exited the stage, students applauded. But more importantly, they stayed behind.
“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.