AI disqualification yields new Nikon Small World in Motion winner

A new winner has emerged for Nikon's Small World in Motion video competition after allegations arose regarding Ning Xu's use of artificial intelligence in his submission. The original victor, Xu from Tsinghua University in China, captured footage of cilia beating in a child's airways with a rare respiratory condition. However, Nikon conducted an investigation and concluded that Xu's entry did not meet competition guidelines.

The accolades have shifted now to Nguyen Nam Nhat of Vietnam. His video showcases a roundworm and a single-celled organism. Reports suggest that some researchers had reservations about Xu's video, pointing out structural irregularities and the appearance/disappearance of certain cell features that do not align with typical cellular biology. Others noticed what seemed like AI watermarks in the source files.

Xu maintained that he utilized AI to highlight and illustrate elements within grayscale images, but denied employing AI to create the video of the cilia or its movement. The Nikon Small World in Motion competition, established in 2011 as a spinoff of the Small World Photomicrography Competition (ongoing since 1974), aims to highlight the intricate beauty of objects observed under the light microscope—through static photographs and dynamic motion pictures made possible by modern technology.

Following Xu's disqualification, several other researchers secured higher placements. Benedikt Pleyer from Bavaria, Germany, took second place with a video of jellyfish larvae in water droplets. Andrew Moore of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the US secured third place for a video illustrating synchronized cell division in adjoining cells.

Patrick Hickey of Hypha Research Ltd. in Edinburgh, Scotland, came in fourth for a video displaying mitochondrial and chloroplast dynamics in Turtle Vine leaf cells. Lastly, Igor Adameyko placed fifth with a video depicting the movement of a small, colorful sea slug (Cyerce kikutarobabai).