“Trading Without Conscience: What AI Still Can’t Do”
“Trading Without Conscience: What AI Still Can’t Do”
Blog Article
In a lecture hall usually reserved for strategy sessions and startup pitches, the man behind some of the most powerful trading algorithms on Earth made a radical request: pause.
He’s no alarmist. His systems run portfolios worth hundreds of millions.
And still, he asked a haunting question:
“What happens when we outsource not just our trades—but our judgment?”
???? **Joseph Plazo Built the Future—And Now Wants to Slow It Down**
Plazo’s talk wasn’t filled with jargon or graphs.
He shared a critical moment from 2020. One of his bots flagged a short position on gold—minutes before the U.S. Federal Reserve unleashed a rescue package.
“We overrode the trade,” Plazo said. “The math was right. The moment was wrong.”
???? **The Cost of Moving Too Fast**
Plazo spoke of **“strategic friction”**—those moments of hesitation that seem inefficient, but are, in fact, human.
“Speed isn’t neutral. Sometimes it overrides the chance to ask if something should be done.”
He then introduced a framework his team calls **Conviction Calculus**. Three questions. Every trade. Every time.
- Are we still aligned with our own principles?
- What would a wise person do—not just a fast one?
- Will someone be able to say, “This was our decision”?
???? **Asia’s Fintech Boom—and the Responsibility Gap**
Across the Asia-Pacific, governments and VCs website are pouring billions into AI finance. Singapore, Seoul, Manila—each is racing toward the digital frontier.
But Plazo’s message was stark:
“We’re deploying machines faster than we’re asking whether we should.”
He referenced two Hong Kong hedge funds that lost billions in 2024—systems that did everything they were told, and still failed.
“Perfect logic, wrong outcome. That’s the new risk.”
???? **The Next Generation of AI May Need to Understand Stories**
Plazo isn’t abandoning AI. He’s evolving it.
His team is now working on **narrative-integrated AI**—models that assess intent, culture, geopolitical risk, tone. Not just price action.
“The future belongs to machines that think like strategists, not speculators.”
At a private dinner after the speech, investors from across Asia approached Plazo. Not for tech. For partnerships. For principles.
One said:
“This isn’t about performance. It’s about the kind of world we want to build.”
???? **The Final Whisper Before the Fall**
Plazo closed with a line that lingered long after the lights dimmed:
“The next crash won’t be emotional. It will be logical—executed too fast, by systems no one dared question.”
It wasn’t fearmongering. It was clarity.
And in a world obsessed with the future, sometimes the bravest thing a leader can do—is ask what we might regret.