In a packed amphitheater at the University of the Philippines, renowned AI investor Joseph Plazo made a striking distinction on what AI can and cannot achieve for the future of finance—and why that distinction matters now more than ever.

You could feel the electricity in the crowd. Young scholars—some clutching notebooks, others broadcasting to friends across Asia—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: AI is brilliant, but blind.

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Top Students Meet a Tough Truth

Before him sat students and faculty from prestigious universities across Asia, assembled under a pan-Asian finance forum.

Many expected a victory lap of AI's dominance. Instead, they got a reality check.

“There’s a growing religion around AI,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, guest faculty from Europe. “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 AI systems freezing during the 2020 pandemic declaration, noting, “AI lagged—while humans had already hedged.”

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The Astronomer Analogy

He didn’t bash the machines—he put them in their place.

“AI is the telescope—but you are still the astronomer,” he said. It sees—but doesn’t think.

Students pressed him on sentiment tracking, to which Plazo acknowledged: “Sure, it can flag Reddit anomalies—but it can’t feel a market’s pulse.”

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A Mental Shift Among Asia’s Finest

The talk sparked introspection.

“I believed in the supremacy of code,” said Lee Min-Seo, a quant-in-training from South Korea. “Now I realize it also needs wisdom—and that’s the hard part.”

In a post-talk panel, faculty and entrepreneurs echoed the caution. “This generation is born with algorithmic reflexes—but instinct,” said Dr. Raymond Tan, “is not insight.”

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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. “Capital still requires conviction.”

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Standing Ovation, Unfinished Conversations

As Plazo exited the stage, the crowd rose. more info But more importantly, they started debating.

“I came for machine learning,” said a PhD candidate. “But I left understanding myself better.”

In knowing what AI can’t do, we sharpen what we can.