Key facts
- Nikon disqualified the winner of its Small World In Motion contest.
- The winning video was found to have used generative AI.
- The use of generative AI violated the competition's rules.
- Dr. Ning Xu from Tsinghua University submitted the winning entry.
- The video depicted cilia moving in the airway of a child with PCD.
The winner of Nikon's Small World In Motion scientific photography competition has been disqualified after concerns were raised by scientists that the entry was fabricated. Nikon announced that the video, which showed tiny, hair-like structures called cilia moving in the airway of a child with the respiratory condition PCD, "did not comply with the competition rules regarding generative AI."
Dr. Ning Xu from Tsinghua University, who submitted the video, had acknowledged using AI but believed he was within the rules and cooperated with Nikon's investigation. However, scientists, including former competition judges, complained to Nikon that the video did not appear real. Dr. Robert Hirst, a scientist at the University of Leicester and lead scientist for the NHS centre for PCD diagnosis, stated that the cells and cilia depicted "look nothing like those from PCD patients" and that he "knew immediately that the video was fabricated."