Award-winning microscopy image disqualified over AI use

The winning entry of the prestigious Small World in Motion microscopy competition has been disqualified after scientists raised concerns about its creation using artificial intelligence.

On 9 October, Nikon Instruments, which runs the competition, said in a statement that the winning video did not comply with competition rules. AI-generated videos are not permitted, according to the competition website.

The video was submitted by Ning Xu, an optical engineer at the National University of Singapore. It showed the movement of hair-like structures called cilia in the lungs and was awarded first place on 15 September. But in days, scientists noted on social-media platform LinkedIn that some features in the video seemed biologically implausible.

In response to those comments, Xu wrote on LinkedIn that his team had used an AI model in post-processing to enhance the visual presentation of the regions below the cilia “without making anatomical claims about what those rendered features represent”. These posts, which appeared under Nikon’s earlier announcement on LinkedIn that Xu had won the prize, have since been taken down.

On 25 September, a Nikon Small World spokesperson told Nature that the company was investigating the video. In its latest statement, Nikon Instruments said that after re-evaluating the video and supporting materials, and consulting the judging panel, it determined that the winning video did not comply with the competition rules. “This decision is based solely on the submitted video’s eligibility under the rules outlined for this competition. It should not be interpreted as a judgment of the entrant’s professional reputation, scientific contributions, or intent,” the company said.

Xu did not respond to Nature’s request for comment about Nikon’s decision to disqualify his entry. A spokesperson for the National University of Singapore said Ning Xu participated in the competition before he joined the university and the content of his submission is unrelated to his work there.