In today’s News of Note, we look at a potential boon for Sweden in the race for rare earth metals. We also ponder whether copyrights are solely for humans, or whether AI deserves equal protection for its artistic endeavors, plus the many unexpected applications (and pitfalls) surfacing as AI generators take the world by storm, and much more.

• Europe may be one step closer to energy independence with the discovery of a vast rare earth metals reserve in northernmost Sweden. (Phelan Chatterjee, BBC)
• New York City’s Department of Education bans ChatGPT amid discourse about how students could use the AI platform to cheat. (Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC)
• Biologists are harnessing the technology unleashed in the DALL-E AI application to generate blueprints for new disease-fighting proteins. (Cade Metz, New York Times)
• A computer scientist continues his legal battle to establish that AI-generated art is entitled to its own copyrights. (Blake Brittainn, Reuters)
• With very little fanfare, Apple releases a collection of books narrated by AI. (Leyland Cecco, The Guardian)
• Intel busts the 6GHz barrier with the release of its newest desktop processor. (Tom Warren, The Verge)
• Tesla slashes prices in the United States and Europe, positioning itself to be more competitive and potentially qualify for additional EV tax credits in the U.S. (Laura Kolodny, CNBC)
• In the wake of the FTX shakeup, Crypto.com says it is cutting 20 percent of jobs. (Manish Singh, TechCrunch)
• As the latest targets in the SEC’s ramp-up of crypto enforcements, the firms Gemini and Genesis are hit with SEC charges for selling unregistered securities. (Rohan Goswami, CNBC)
• Tech companies tout their latest gadgets, from wireless TVs to smart toilets, at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. (Verge Staff, The Verge)
• The first detection of excitons in quantum research opens doors to new light-driven quantum technology. (University of Wurzburg, SciTech Daily)

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