A post on social media about using Perplexity AI’s Comet browser to automatically finish an online course has gotten a lot of attention, even a direct comment from Aravind Srinivas, the company’s co-founder and CEO.
A user of X, who claimed to be a web developer, posted a video showing how they utilized the Comet browser, which is Perplexity’s AI-powered knowledge platform, to answer questions and finish a Coursera course. The user tagged Srinivas and Perplexity and wrote, “I just finished my Coursera course.”
It was amusing that the user later said that the course they skipped with the advanced AI was called “AI Ethics, Responsibility, and Creativity.”
The CEO’s answer starts a debate.
The original video rapidly went viral, getting over three lakh views, which made the CEO quite angry.
Aravind Srinivas’s Response: Srinivas just responded, “Absolutely don’t do this” in response to the message.
The encounter right away started a bigger conversation on social media about the future of education, AI ethics, and how to evaluate job candidates in the age of sophisticated AI tools:
Criticism of Education: One person said, “The whole point of education is lost here.” “Please give Comet the certificate.”
Concerns about hiring: Another person said they were worried about organizations, saying, “Companies are more likely to get candidates who use tools like this to make their resumes look better than actual talent with integrity.” But it’s a good problem. It should make people more aware of merit-based evaluation methods.
Linux Request: A third person joked, “Thanks for making Frankistein’s monster.” I want it on my laptop with Linux. “When can I get it?”
Who is this Aravind Srinivas?
The CEO at the center of the dispute is a big name in the world of AI and has recently reached a big personal goal.
The Hurun India Rich List 2025 says that the 31-year-old from Chennai became India’s youngest billionaire with a net worth of ₹21,190 crore.
Hurun study Note: The study used Srinivas’s success as an example of India’s move toward deep-tech and said that his wealth “comes from building a foundational AI model that competes globally.”
Srinivas has a PhD in Computer Science and two degrees in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras. Before starting Perplexity AI with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski in 2022, he worked for big tech companies including OpenAI, Google, and DeepMind.