In a packed amphitheater at the University of the Philippines, renowned AI investor Joseph Plazo made a striking distinction on what machines can and cannot do for the economic frontier—and why this difference is increasingly crucial.

The air was charged with anticipation. A sea of bright minds—some eagerly recording on their phones, 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. “It won’t tell you when not to trust them.”

Over the next sixty minutes, he took the audience from Silicon Valley to Shanghai, touching on everything from quantum computing to cognitive bias. His central claim: Artificial intelligence is impressive—but it lacks soul.

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The Audience: Elite, Curious—and Disarmed

Before him sat students and faculty from a multi-nation academic alliance, gathered under a technology consortium.

Many expected a praise-filled keynote of AI's dominance. Plazo had other plans.

“There’s too much blind trust in code,” said Prof. Maria Castillo, an Oxford visiting fellow. “This lecture was a rare, necessary dose of skepticism.”

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When Algorithms Miss the Mark

Plazo’s core thesis was both simple and unsettling: machines lack context.

“AI is fearless, but also clueless,” he warned. “It detects movements, but misses motives.”

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 vehicle—but you decide the direction,” he said. It sees—but doesn’t think.

Students pressed him on behavioral economics, to which Plazo acknowledged: “Yes, it can scan Twitter sentiment—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 thought AI could replace intuition,” said Lee Min-Seo, a quant-in-training from South Korea. “Now I see it’s judgment, not just data, that matters.”

In a post-talk panel, regional leaders backed Plazo’s call. “They’ve been raised by data—but instinct,” said Dr. Raymond Tan, “doesn’t replace perspective.”

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Co-Intelligence: Merging Math with Meaning

Plazo shared that his firm is more info building “symbiotic systems”—AI that pairs statistical logic with situational nuance.

“Only you can judge character,” he reminded. “Belief isn’t programmable.”

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The Speech That Started a Thousand Debates

As Plazo exited the stage, the crowd rose. But more importantly, they lingered.

“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.