The winner of a prestigious scientific photography competition has been disqualified after organizers concluded his use of generative AI broke the rules.
Ning Xu was named the winner of Nikon’s annual Small World in Motion competition in September, but his video received a number of critical comments from experts who questioned his use of AI.
Nikon launched an investigation and announced its findings in a statement Friday.
“After carefully re-evaluating the video and materials and consulting with our jury members, Nikon determined that the winning video did not comply with the competition rules regarding generative AI,” the statement said, adding that the competition rankings have been adjusted.
“This decision is based solely on the eligibility of the video submitted under the rules set forth for this competition. It should not be construed as a judgment on the professional reputation, scientific contributions, or intent of the entrant,” the statement said.
Nikon also said it would review its judging rules and procedures for the annual competition in the future.
The new winner is a video showing a tiny roundworm and a single-celled Dileptus, a kind of single-celled microorganism, made by Vietnamese researcher Nguyen Nam Nhat.
Xu’s video captures the abnormal beating of airway cilia – hair-like structures that protrude from cells in the human body – in a child living with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a rare genetic disorder.
When Nikon posted the video on LinkedIn, it drew criticism from scientists such as Edward Phelps, an associate professor at the University of Florida, who said there were “many serious problems with this video.”
Phelps said some of the biological structures shown in the images don’t behave as expected. “The microscopy community deserves an explanation from Nikon,” Phelps added.
In response, in a series of comments on LinkedIn, Xu admitted to using AI.
“AI was not used to generate the experimental film, the eyelashes, or their movement,” he wrote.
“It was then applied to the reconstructed grayscale data to distinguish and color structures with similar morphology,” he added.
CNN has contacted Xu, who now works at the National University of Singapore as a researcher, for further comment.
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