The Hyder Index

Held at 73. OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic all shipped free student and teacher products within weeks of each other. An MIT committee said AI can now handle almost any written assignment in its undergraduate curriculum. The response moved up again from a low base as the University of Colorado opened ChatGPT Edu to eligible students on four campuses. Watch September 16, when Florida's state board votes on requiring every state college to adopt an AI policy.

Held at 73. Texas halted new data center approvals while it audits a grid queue asking for several times the state's record peak demand. Data centers became a campaign issue in both parties. Utilities kept signing anyway: Georgia regulators approved a multi-gigawatt Georgia Power contract with OpenAI, and every major utility reported more contracted demand. Watch September 3, when Dominion shareholders vote on the NextEra merger that Maine's governor says would limit competition.

The score slipped a point as the response caught up slightly. Announced job cuts fell to a two-year low in July, yet AI was again the top stated reason. Meta dropped a plan to cut some teams by as much as 60% and rebuild around AI agents after incidents rose, per Reuters. Workday says AI now drives a large share of its new contract value, and most surveyed CHROs are training managers on AI.

Held at 72. Pew Research found that about a third of US adults now use AI chatbots for health reasons. The FDA asked the public how it should regulate generative AI medical devices. Health tech companies like Doximity, Hims & Hers, and CVS put AI usage numbers on their earnings calls, while hospital operators still did not. Watch the FDA's October 19 comment deadline for which health systems weigh in.

Held at 68. Walmart says shoppers who use its Sparky AI assistant spend 40% more per order, yet its US sales growth was the slowest in years. Tariff refunds handed retailers a record pile of cash in one quarter, and most of it went to prices and margins, not AI. Target hired its first chief AI officer. Watch Kroger's September earnings call for whether grocery puts AI numbers on the table.

Held at 66. Customers pulled back across the industry in August. Wendy's, McDonald's, Wingstop, Nu Skin, and USANA all reported weaker sales, and Wendy's cut its dividend. The response moved too. Yum says its managers and franchisees have built more than 400 AI agents through its training program. AI tools reached district managers and franchisees. Watch McDonald's Investor Day on September 23 for the AI plan it pushed to next quarter.

Caterpillar posted its first $20 billion quarter on data center demand, and tariffs escalated on four fronts in one month. The boom is real but split: record backlogs at Caterpillar and Siemens against a farm equipment trough at Deere. Equipment vendors raised guidance and named capacity actions, while robots on US factory floors did not visibly advance. The gap widened by a point: the companies selling automation moved, and the factories buying it did not.

Held at 66. Housing starts fell 12.4% in July, and new US tariffs on Canadian cement, plywood, and steel took effect August 22. Data center construction set records and still could not ease the shortage. Brokerages and portals now report AI usage numbers, while the home builder call reviewed this month did not mention AI at all. Watch September 8, when Canada's counter-tariffs on US goods take effect.

Down one point, and for a good reason: response is catching up. Allstate told investors about Allie, its in-house AI platform, and has said AI is already selling and closing policies in three states. Aon agreed to buy the broker USI in the month's biggest insurance deal. J.D. Power found that 29% of auto and home customers have used AI to research, shop for, or service a policy. The tools customers said they wanted are starting to arrive.

Held steady. Treasury published the core rule for stablecoins, the digital dollars issued by private companies, and Wells Fargo put a fall date on its own tokenized deposits. Nubank, the Brazilian digital bank, earned more than $1 billion in a quarter with AI agents handling most of its customer support. Banks are turning stablecoin plans into dated launches. Watch the Senate's September vote on the CLARITY Act, the bill that would settle digital asset rules.

Held steady. Waymo opened Dallas and Houston to the public, and Uber said it will spend more than $10 billion on self-driving vehicles. Freight went the other way: shipments fell again and new US tariffs on Canadian goods hit the border. The passenger side is racing ahead while the freight side waits out a soft market. Watch Tesla's Cybercab launch event in Austin on September 3.

The World Cup hangover never came. US hotel revenue per room rose 8.2% in July, and forecasters raised their outlook for the year. Google began completing hotel bookings inside search, with Booking, Expedia, Marriott, and IHG taking part, and Choice Hotels went live on August 28. Demand is strong, and the booking channel is shifting under the industry's feet. This remains the closest race between change and response on the Hyder Index.