CEO of an automation platform explains how he wrote a 168-page book with AI: ‘It was like a Socratic dialogue’

UiPath CEO Daniel Dines wrote a 168-page, roughly 40,000-word book titled The Work That Remains using Claude and ChatGPT, employing what he called "adversarial prompts" in a process he described as "really like a Socratic dialogue." Dines said the manuscript grew to almost 100,000 words before he cut it down, and that the book, which outlines a model where AI proposes, humans decide, and automation executes, took shape over three years alongside UiPath's company strategy. Dines said he learned AI is only as good as its training data and that challenging feedback is critical for both AI and humans to avoid hallucinations.

- In today’s CEO Daily: UiPath CEO Daniel Dines used ‘adversarial prompts’ for his AI-co-written book. - The big leadership story: Inside Walmart’s winning China strategy. - The markets: U.S. futures are up ahead of the first of two inflation reports. - Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune . Good morning. I’ve long thought of Daniel Dines as a kind of philosopher king in business. Growing up in Romania, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of UiPath wanted to be a novelist. Even after he’d created a leading platform for robotic process automation, he’d often start his day with a book, sometimes followed by a nap before turning on his computer. Whether giving advice to entrepreneurs https://enterprisetech.london/a-discussion-with-daniel-dines-from-humble-origins-to-explosive-growth/ or talking about founder mode https://fortune.com/2024/09/06/founder-mode-debate-merits-perils-leadership/ , Dines will often insert references to writers like Friedrich Nietzsche or Jack London. So, when I learned that Dines has written a book called The Work That Remains with Claude and ChatGPT which you can download here https://www.uipath.com/resources/automation-whitepapers/the-work-that-remains , I was intrigued to find out more. It’s a book about how humans and AI will work together, with Dines outlining a model in which AI proposes, humans decide, and automation executes. It’s 168 pages, around 40,000 words, and can of course be distilled to an AI summary or a haiku. Such are the wonders of technology. When speaking to Dines, I was less interested in his conclusion than how he arrived at it through AI. “It was really like a Socratic dialogue,” he told me, with each session involving a series of hypotheses, challenges and instructions. “I used two models and did adversarial prompts: This is the theory. Read this article. Create opposing views … The book grew at one point to be almost 100,000 words. AI is extremely verbose, so the real work was cutting it down.” Those interactions were intense but iterative, with his thesis taking shape over three years as he took time to reflect, observe, read, refine and run a business. “When I started, I didn’t have such a clear idea of where I wanted to land. The ideas I got came through the process of writing the book. Our company strategy, the book, they evolved together,” he said. “I had many evenings and mornings where I couldn’t wait to wake up and write. I was in a complete state of flow. You have to be immersed and challenged and work together and consider it as a partner.” And what did he learn about the limits of AI? First, that it’s only as good as the data it’s trained on, which makes it better at dealing with a known math problem than a novel idea. Second, that challenging feedback is critical for both AI and humans to avoid hallucinations and getting stuck in a rut. Thoughtful collaboration can work. “I have ideas, but I don’t have the time and the talent to put them on paper in a structure, in a manner that can be consumed by the public at large,” he said. Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com mailto:diane.brady@fortune.com Top leadership news Inside Walmart’s China strategy Walmart China CEO Christina Zhu says https://fortune.com/2026/09/10/walmart-china-ceo-christina-zhu-fortune500/?showAdminBar=true her “boss is the Chinese customer,” as the retailer thrives despite a tough market. Speaking at Fortune’s Leaders Forum, she highlighted China’s extreme expectations—30‑minute delivery, not three‑day—and Walmart’s shift from pure brick‑and‑mortar to an omnichannel model. With half‑year sales topping 100 billion yuan, growth is being driven by Sam’s Club expansion, e‑commerce, and relentless focus on value, assortment, and convenience. Apple unveils its first foldable iPhone New Apple CEO John Ternus unveiled the company’s new iPhone Duo, a book-style foldable with a $1,999 starting price, that will go on sale starting Oct. 23. Check out 21 pictures of the company’s first foldable phone https://fortune.com/2026/09/09/20-photos-apple-iphone-duo-2000-dollar-foldable-smartphone/ . Diesel shortage fears grow Oil climbed above https://fortune.com/2026/09/10/we-worry-now-oil-tops-100-diesel-record-highs-iran-escalation/ $101 a barrel and U.S. diesel rose above $200 a barrel as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed and fuel inventories fell to critical levels. Analysts warned that diesel shortages could become more common in Europe and South Asia, adding to inflation pressure and raising the prospect of further interest-rate hikes. The markets S&P 500 futures are up 0.12% this morning. The last session closed down 0.48%. The STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.20% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.42% in early trading. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.20%. South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.25%. China’s CSI 300 was down 0.53%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.27%. India’s NIFTY 50 was down 0.17%. Bitcoin is down at $78k. Around the watercooler Anthropic researcher resigns, warning that AI companies are ‘gambling with our lives’ https://fortune.com/2026/09/09/anthropic-researcher-resigns-warn-ai-companies-gambling-with-lives/ by Beatrice Nolan This CEO isn’t sure about financial nihilism, but he’s horrified by sports gambling online. So this football season, he’ll pay you not to do it https://fortune.com/2026/09/09/nfl-sports-gambling-acorns-financial-wellness-pay-you-not-to/ by Nick Lichtenberg 17 states have an ‘unusual’ problem in big price-fixing settlement: Distributing 53 million free eggs to Americans https://fortune.com/2026/09/09/egg-price-fixing-antitrust-lawsuit-settlement-distributing-53-million-eggs/ by Sasha Rogelberg Microsoft’s move in the AI school debate: controls over how student data gets used https://fortune.com/2026/09/09/microsoft-school-district-ai-standard-enforceable-safety/ by Catherine Gioino CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford. Sign up https://www.fortune.com/newsletters/ceo-daily?&itm source=fortune&itm medium=nl article tout&itm campaign=ceo daily to get it delivered free to your inbox.