"Don't Create Tech That Leads To Jobloss": AR Rahman's Advice To Sam Altman

Music maestro AR Rahman has shared a key message from his conversations with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Perplexity AI founder Aravind Srinivas, saying he urges tech leaders at every meeting to build technology that doesn't make people lose jobs.

Speaking during a podcast with Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath, Rahman said Altman was once the only person he followed on X (formerly Twitter) before ChatGPT existed.

Rahman said his first message to anyone building AI is always the same: "Don't create technology that makes people lose jobs. Empower people to break generational curses like poverty, misinformation, and the lack of tools needed to tell their stories."

Just like a gun is powerful and can cause harm if given to the wrong person, AI can also cause serious economic harm if misused, the two-time Oscar winner said. Guns come with licenses, checks, and rules, he said, adding AI should be treated the same way.

"If you buy a gun, you've set rules, right? You don't give it to everyone, because they're gonna shoot everybody. They're going to kill people. It's not free to use. It has restrictions. Now you're not shooting people, but you can pull the carpet off, make them jobless. It's like making families go into poverty. So it is the rules," he added.

Much like traffic rules, weapon rules, and immigration rules, similar guidelines and rules must be set for AI, he said.

When Kamath suggested that rising productivity could offset job losses, Rahman disagreed, saying society cannot hand over destructive tools without preparation.

"If someone studies four years in college and suddenly AI can do their job in two seconds, they'll be helpless. We need alternate systems before we give such tools to everybody," he added.

Rahman stressed that AI should do things humans cannot do, instead of replacing what humans already do better.

He also called AI a powerful tool for young people with vision but limited resources. "AI lets people make movies, art, songs, even if they don't have training," he said. He cited British singer RAYE as an example of artists who used AI in their latest songs.

"Her latest songs are experimental," said Rahman, because the construction is different from what people normally do. It's trying to beat AI.

Talking about his metahuman digital avatar band, Secret Mountain, where real artists and advanced AI models come together to create hyper-realistic, emotionally responsive digital performers, Rahman said, "We use the best of AI, and we use the best of humans."

"He [Sam Altman] was looking at the Secret Mountain, and he was fascinated, I think. He [Altman] said, 'Whatever help you guys need in technology,' But I think this is not just…Secret Mountain is about fashion, merchandise, music, wisdom, and entertainment," Rahman said.

The virtual band comprises six digital avatars, including an Irish singer-songwriter, a Tamil rapper, and an African percussionist. Each avatar is supported by real-world musicians and creative professionals.

"The initiative will use cutting-edge tools like Veo 3 for avatar embodiment and video generation, and Imagen and Gemini Flash 2.5 Image for high-quality visuals, while Gemini 2.5 Pro will serve as the 'conversational brain' that powers real-time fan interactions," Rahman said.