Weekly Intel - 2026-01-24
This week’s developments highlight both the growing pains of the autonomous vehicle market and emerging cybersecurity threats, while broader economic shifts suggest we’re entering a period of significant change in how technology companies approach monetization and global markets.
De-dollarization: Is the US dollar losing its dominance? (2025) . The U.S. dollar’s grip on global commodity markets is weakening as major trading partners shift toward alternative currencies. Russia’s oil exports are now priced in the local currencies of buyers like India, China, and Turkey, while Saudi Arabia is considering yuan-denominated futures for oil pricing, marking a significant change in international trade patterns that business leaders should monitor for its impact on currency risk management and global payment systems.
Tesla kills Autopilot, locks lane-keeping behind $99/month fee . Tesla has discontinued its basic Autopilot driver assistance feature and moved all automated driving capabilities into its Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscription service, which will cost $99 per month. This strategic shift comes as Tesla faces regulatory pressure in California over potentially misleading marketing of its autonomous driving features, while also representing a major push toward recurring revenue streams that could significantly impact the company’s business model and the broader automotive industry’s approach to software features.
Satya Nadella: “We need to find something useful for AI.” Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned that AI must deliver tangible societal benefits to justify its substantial energy consumption. He emphasized that public support for AI will erode unless it improves outcomes in healthcare, education, and business efficiency across both public and private sectors.
Anthropic Economic Index report: economic primitives . Anthropic’s latest economic report analyzes anonymized Claude usage data across five key dimensions: user skills, task complexity, AI autonomy, success rates, and use contexts. By examining these fundamental metrics just before the Opus 4.5 release, the report reveals significant geographic differences in AI adoption patterns and provides concrete data to help business leaders better understand AI’s current capabilities and economic impact.
-Eric