‘Don’t do this’: Perplexity AI's Aravind Srinivas warns after Comet user completes 45-minute online course in 16 seconds

Perplexity AI's CEO Aravind Srinivas' reaction to a social media post describing how to use Comet browser to complete an online course has gone viral. The 31-year-old billionaire commented on a video shared on X which described the process to use Comet to complete a Coursera course.

Aravind Srinivas' repost with the caption, “Absolutely don’t do this" amassed over 50 lakh views, 45 thousand reactions and several comments in less that 11 hours.

An X user named Amrit Nigam, who claims to be a web developer, expressed gratitude to Aravind Srinivas and Perplexity's Comet AI and stated, “Just completed my Coursera course.” The video shows Comet AI answering 12 questions of a 45-minute training assignment due on October 20. In the 16-second video clip, one can see the techie's prompt “Complete the assignment” and the AI assistant automating the task.

Ironically, the user later stated the course was on “AI Ethics, Responsibility and Creativity.” This post created a stir online as many reacted, including Perplexity AI's CEO Aravind Srinivas.

Social media reaction

A user wrote,"Thanks for creating Frankistein's monster. I want it on my Linux laptop. When can I get it?"

Another user remarked, “He meant comet completed his Coursera course.”

A third user stated, “Oh… but they will. Companies are more likely to get candidates who use tools like this to juice their resume than actual talent with integrity. It’s a good problem, though. It should induce a greater awareness of meritocratic evaluation methodologies.”

A fourth comment read, “When your AI course teaches ethics and your AI assistant teaches shortcuts.”

A fifth user remarked, “this is what future looks like with bots everywhere.”

A sixth user said, “A good lesson for coursera and others to improvise in this age of ultron.”

A seventh user quipped, “The New Soham Parekh !”

Aravind Srinivas net worth

According to the Hurun India Rich List 2025, Aravind Srinivas, an alum of IIT Madras, is the youngest billionaire in India, which estimated his net worth at ₹21,190 crore. "His wealth stems from building a foundational AI model competing globally,” the Hurun report said.

He secured dual degrees — one in Electrical Engineering and another PhD in Computer Science, before founding his own company. Previously, he worked at several big tech companies such as OpenAI, Google, and DeepMind. Aravind Srinivas in collaboration with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski started Perplexity AI in 2022.