Nikon disqualifies winning video from contest over generative AI use

Nikon disqualified a video by Dr. Ning Xu of Tsinghua University that had won the Small World in Motion contest by showing cilia in the airway of a child with PCD. The company said the use of generative AI in processing the material did not comply with the rules, after reevaluating the video and supporting materials and consulting members of the judging panel. Xu said AI was used to distinguish and visualize features in reconstructed grayscale images, but denied that the technology generated the video, the cilia, or their motion.

Nguyen Nam Nhat of Vietnam moved into first place with a video of a microscopic roundworm and the single-celled organism Dileptus, according to Ars Technica and the contest’s updated rankings. The decision followed scientists’ questions about the video’s authenticity; Nikon said it would review the rules and evaluation procedures for future competitions and that the disqualification was not a judgment of Xu’s professional reputation, scientific contributions, or intent.