By Special Feature by Forbes Asia
What if someone created a market cheat code—and then uploaded it for the world to use?
Hong Kong, 2025 — In a sunlit University of Hong Kong classroom, Joseph Plazo walked the stage like a code-wielding prophet.
The room froze as one command line appeared—quietly holding the blueprint of financial warfare.
“This,” he said, pausing, “is the core of the system that beat every market it touched.”
Then he added: “And you’re going to improve it.”
## The Code That Outplayed Wall Street
Plazo’s AI took 12 years, 72 failed iterations, and millions in research funding to perfect.
System 72 blends behavioral forecasting, sentiment parsing, and high-frequency trade logic.
It processes voice inflection, tweet patterns, derivatives, newsfeeds—then acts.
“We built a machine to sense fear before it echoes in the charts,” he adds.
The results? Astonishing.
It shorted dips, longed rallies, and sidestepped black swans.
Plazo’s firm made billions.
## Then Came the Twist
In Manila’s financial district, Joseph Plazo said something unthinkable.
“I’m open-sourcing Godmode,” he said flatly.
It wasn’t a joke. It was a paradigm shift.
Instead of selling it to the highest bidder, he seeded it to the future.
“I don’t believe in bottlenecks,” he explained. “I believe in bridges.”
## The Educational Revolution That Followed
Soon, labs from Singapore to Japan were adapting the code in wildly creative ways.
Jakarta students used it to detect unrest. Seoul labs used it to predict EV charging loads.
“It’s not just a financial AI anymore,” said Professor Takahashi of Tokyo University.
International agencies asked for a look under the hood.
## Critics, Controversy, and the Ethics of Genius
Some called it dangerous. Others called it disruptive.
“This is financial anarchy,” warned a U.S. fund manager.
But Plazo didn’t blink.
“We can’t outlaw brilliance,” he added. “We need to teach it.”
You can access the mind. You still need to build the body.
“We gave the world the brain,” he said. “Now let’s see who builds the best nervous system.”
## Real Stories from the Ground
A mother in the Philippines built a tech business after studying the open-source code.
Vietnamese undergrads used the model to stabilize food market risk.
“This gave us hope,” said a 21-year-old student in India.
## The Philosophy That Powers the Gift
When asked why he did it, Plazo’s answer was simple: “Power should compound, not consolidate.”
To him, information is like air. Shared. Essential. And free.
“What scares me isn’t misuse—it’s missed opportunity,” he explained.
## Conclusion: The Joystick Is Yours Now
Back on campus, Plazo watches students code more info with the same hunger he once had.
“Trading was just the beginning,” he says. “This is about agency.”
In a data-driven age, he opened the source of brilliance.
And somewhere, a kid is writing the next version of System 72—because now, they can.