Nikon microscopic video competition winner disqualified for using generative AI

<figure> <img alt="A still from Dr. Ning Xu’s disqualified video for Nikon’s 2026 Small World in Motion contest" data-caption="The original first place video used AI in post-processing. | Image: Dr. Ning Xu" data-portal-copyright="Image: Dr. Ning Xu" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/nikon-small-world-in-motion-ning-xu.png?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> The original first place video used AI in post-processing. | Image: Dr. Ning Xu </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nikon <a href="https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/news/nikon-small-world-in-motion-video-statement">says</a> the video that originally won first place in its <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/997345/the-winners-of-nikons-microscopic-video-competition">Small World in Motion contest</a> "did not comply with the competition rules regarding generative AI." <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr86z33pdy9vo"><em>BBC</em></a> reports that the original first place video from Dr. Ning Xu claimed to show "tiny, hair-like structures called cilia moving in the airway of a child with the respiratory condition PCD." Nikon said last week that it was <a href="https://petapixel.com/2026/10/01/nikon-re-reviewing-winner-of-small-world-in-motion-contest-after-ai-accusation/">reviewing the video</a> following skepticism online about its authenticity. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7506310017814401024/?dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A%287508739768218980352%2Curn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7506310017814401024%29">a comment on LinkedIn</a>, Dr. Xu admitted to using AI for the video: "An unsupervised neural-network method was subsequently used for AI-assisted post-processing to distinguish and visualize f …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1008930/nikon-small-world-in-motion-winner-ai">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>