UiPath CEO Daniel Dines wrote a 168-page book with Claude and ChatGPT, using adversarial prompts across two AI models to build and refine his thesis over three years. The book, The Work That Remains, outlines how humans and AI will divide labor: AI proposes, humans decide, and automation executes.
Dines, a Romanian billionaire who once wanted to be a novelist, described the process as "really like a Socratic dialogue." Each session involved hypotheses, challenges, and instructions. "I used two models and did adversarial prompts: This is the theory. Read this article. Create opposing views," he said. "The book grew at one point to be almost 100,000 words. AI is extremely verbose, so the real work was cutting it down."
How the book and company strategy evolved together
Dines said his thesis took shape gradually as he ran UiPath alongside the writing. "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. He described mornings and evenings spent in "a complete state of flow," treating the AI models as collaborative partners rather than tools.
His assessment of AI's limits is direct. First, the models are only as good as their training data, which makes them better at solving known math problems than generating novel ideas. Second, challenging feedback matters for both AI and humans to avoid hallucinations and stagnation. "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.
For executives considering similar experiments, the workflow Dines describes aligns with broader patterns in how leaders are applying AI to strategy work. Our AI Learning Path for CEOs covers structured approaches to using generative models for planning and communication.
Walmart's China play and Apple's foldable
Walmart China CEO Christina Zhu told Fortune's Leaders Forum that "her boss is the Chinese customer." The retailer has shifted from pure brick-and-mortar to an omnichannel model, responding to expectations for 30-minute delivery rather than three-day shipping. Half-year sales topped 100 billion yuan, driven by Sam's Club expansion, e-commerce, and a focus on value, assortment, and convenience.
Apple CEO John Ternus unveiled the iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable phone. The book-style device starts at $1,999 and goes on sale October 23.
Markets and energy pressure
Oil climbed above $101 a barrel and U.S. diesel rose above $200 as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed and fuel inventories fell. Analysts warn diesel shortages could spread across Europe and South Asia, adding to inflation pressure and raising the prospect of further interest-rate hikes.
S&P 500 futures were up 0.12% this morning after the previous session closed down 0.48%. European indexes opened lower, with the STOXX Europe 600 down 0.20% and the FTSE 100 down 0.42%. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.20% while the Hang Seng fell 1.27%.
Why this matters for executives and strategy leaders
Dines's experiment shows a concrete model for using AI as a thinking partner rather than a content mill. The adversarial prompt approach - feeding a draft to one model, asking for opposing views, then iterating - is a repeatable method for stress-testing strategic assumptions before they reach a board deck. The bottleneck, as Dines found, is not generating ideas but cutting them down. Leaders who treat AI output as a first draft to be challenged, rather than a final product, will get more useful strategic material. For structured guidance on applying these methods at the C-suite level, see our AI for Executives & Strategy resources.
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