In a rare keynote that blended technical acumen with philosophical depth, famed AI strategist Joseph Plazo confronted the beliefs held by the academic elite: there are frontiers even AI cannot cross.
MANILA — The ovation at the end wasn’t routine—it carried the weight of contemplation. Inside the University of the Philippines’ grand lecture hall, handpicked scholars from across Asia anticipated a celebration of automation and innovation.
Instead, they got a warning.
Plazo, the man whose algorithms flirt with mythic win rates, didn’t deliver another AI sales pitch. Instead, he opened with a paradox:
“AI can beat the market. But only if you teach it when not to try.”
Phones were lowered.
It wasn’t a sermon on efficiency—it was a meditation on limits.
### Machines Without Meaning
In a methodical dissection, Plazo attacked the assumption that AI can fully replace human intuition.
He displayed footage of algorithmic blunders—algorithms buying into crashes, bots shorting bull runs, systems misreading sarcasm as market optimism.
“ Most of what we call AI is trained on yesterday. But investing happens tomorrow.”
His tone wasn’t cynical—it was reflective.
Then he paused, looked around, and asked:
“ Can your code feel the 2008 crash? Not the price charts—the dread. The stunned silence. The smell of collapse?”
Silence.
### When Students Pushed Back
Bright minds pushed back.
A doctoral student from Kyoto proposed that large language models are already picking up on emotional cues.
Plazo nodded. “Yes. But sensing anger is not the same as understanding it. ”
Another student from HKUST asked if real-time data and news could eventually simulate conviction.
Plazo replied:
“Lightning can be charted. But not predicted. Conviction is a choice, not a calculation.”
### The Tools—and the Trap
He shifted the conversation: from tech to temptation.
He described traders who waited for AI signals as gospel.
“This is not evolution. It’s abdication.”
But he clarified: he’s not anti-AI. more info
His systems parse liquidity, news, and institutional behavior—with rigorous human validation.
“The most dangerous phrase of the next decade,” he warned, “will be: ‘The model told me to do it.’”
### Asia’s Crossroads
In Asia—where AI is lionized—Plazo’s tone was a jolt.
“There’s a spiritual reverence for AI here,” said Dr. Anton Leung, an ethics professor from Singapore. “Plazo reminded us that even intelligence needs wisdom.”
In a follow-up faculty roundtable, Plazo urged for AI literacy—not just in code, but in consequence.
“Teach them to think with AI, not just build it.”
Final Words
His closing didn’t feel like a tech talk. It felt like a warning.
“The market,” Plazo said, “is not a spreadsheet. It’s a novel. And if your AI doesn’t read character, it will miss the plot.”
There was no cheering.
They stood up—quietly.
A professor compared it to hearing Taleb for the first time.
Plazo didn’t sell a vision.
And for those who came to worship at the altar of AI,
it was the sermon they didn’t expect—but needed to hear.