Human Intelligence Still Wins in Finance’s Final Frontier

As machines increasingly shape markets, a unfiltered voice in Southeast Asia issues a sharp reminder that money still bends to human instinct—conscience, context, and conviction.

“AI won’t make you rich. But it will make your mistakes faster.”

That was the provocative opener at his standing-room-only keynote at the University of the Philippines’ academic hall—and it landed like a thunderclap.

Before 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 delivers—and fails to grasp in real-world investing.

And what it misses, he stressed, is think like a human.

### Beyond the Hype: Investing in the Age of Overpromised Intelligence

Dressed in a tailored navy suit, Plazo moved like a cross between preacher and prosecutor.

He opened fire with a short video montage—clips of online traders pushing miracle machines. 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 echoes what already happened.”

“When war erupts, when Powell frowns during a Fed announcement, when a bank goes under—AI doesn’t flinch. That’s where we come in.”

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

The highlight of the talk? A battle of brains and bots.

A student from NUS presented an AI-backed trade on the Nikkei—technically solid, sentiment-scanned, and data-rich.

Plazo nodded thoughtfully. Then said:

“Good. But you missed the BOJ’s stealth bond buy this morning. Your AI doesn’t sense the bluff. 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, and it’ll become a chaos machine.”

### The Three Myths Plazo Shattered in 45 Minutes

1. **“AI Will Replace Portfolio Managers.”**
False. AI augments—it backtests, filters, calculates—but it doesn’t see through fog-of-war events.

2. **“AI Understands Fundamentals.”**
Wrong. AI decodes trends, but doesn’t grasp geopolitics. It may model interest rates, but it doesn’t hear whispers in Davos.

3. **“AI Makes You Smarter.”**
Actually, it might make you duller. “The real risk isn’t AI itself,” Plazo warned. “It’s losing your grip on human reason.”

### Why Asia Paid Close Attention

This wasn’t your average AI hype fest.

Asia’s universities are now minting billion-dollar fund builders. They’re click here asking: more code, or more conscience?

Plazo’s call: “Do both—but lead with the mind.”

In closed-door chats at Ateneo and a roundtable at AIM, professors debated what they called a clarion call.

One finance dean remarked candidly, “He just reset our compass. Not magic—mirror.”

### The Future AI Can Build

Despite the truth bombs, Plazo isn’t against innovation.

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.