Japanese optics company Nikon is re-reviewing the winning entry of its 2026 Small World in Motion microscopy contest after scientists accused researcher Dr. Ning Xu of using artificial intelligence to alter his video submission. The video, which shows cilia movement in a child’s airway, sparked debate over image processing standards.
The entry, which won first place, was later scrutinized by the scientific community after critics claimed AI had been used to enhance the footage. Nikon announced it is carefully re-reviewing
the submission, citing concerns about potential rule violations.
AI Allegations and Scientific Backlash
Scientists raised alarms after noticing anomalies in Xu’s video, including cilia that pop in and out of existence
and structures that migrating between cells,
according to Edward Phelps, an associate professor at the University of Florida. Ian Donovan, a PhD student at UT Southwestern Medical Center, claimed to have identified a SynthID watermark—a marker used to detect AI-generated content—in the video’s source files.
Robert Hirst, who’s used microscopy to diagnose the disorder of Xu’s child patient, noted that some of these features just are not consistent with nature.
The competition’s judging panel featured Joe Dragavon, head of the Advanced Light Microscopy Core at the BioFrontiers Institute and director of Core Facilities and Shared Instrumentation at the University of Colorado Boulder, along with Quinten Geldhof, a technical designer at the Museum of Science in Boston. USA TODAY reached out to Nikon nor Xu when contacted Oct. 1.
Xu’s Defense and Nikon’s Response
Xu defended his work, stating on LinkedIn that AI was not used to generate the original footage or the cilia’s motion. Instead, he claimed AI was employed to highlight and visualize features of reconstructed grayscale images.
He emphasized that AI was not used to create the experimental video, the cilia themselves, or their movement.
Xu also noted that the video’s coloring was consistent with standard microscopy practices, as stipulated by the contest rules.
Nikon confirmed it is reviewing technical documentation provided by Xu, including details about the microscopy equipment and imaging methods used. The company stated, Dr. Ning Xu is respectfully complying and has provided detailed technical documentation outlining the microscopy equipment, imaging methods, and processing techniques used to create the source video.
A Nikon spokesperson added, At this time, we don’t see that any rules were violated.
However, the company plans to update the Nikon Small World community the week of Sept. 28.
The contest, now in its 16th year, has accepted over 340 video submissions from 40 countries. The Nikon division responsible for sponsoring the contest, Nikon Instruments, revealed Xu’s winning entry during mid-September and shared it again on LinkedIn last week. The competition’s rules explicitly prohibit generative AI from producing the core subject matter, requiring all entries to be captured using a microscope.
Critics also pointed to the video’s visual style, which includes brightly colored structures that some argued were inconsistent with natural cilia behavior. Xu acknowledged using post-processing to enhance the visual presentation of regions below the cilia, stating, We therefore used post-processing to enhance the visual presentation of the regions below the cilia, without making anatomical claims about what those rendered features represent.
However, Edward Phelps noted that the cilia’s shapes do not fit with known behaviors and that the cilia appear to be too large.
Implications for Scientific Imaging
The incident highlights tensions between scientific integrity and the desire to create visually engaging content.
Meanwhile, the controversy has sparked discussions about the role of AI in scientific research. While some argue that tools like AI can aid in analyzing complex data, others stress the importance of transparency. As one critic noted, For the sake of transparency and fairness to the other competitors, you should immediately make the raw data available.
The debate underscores the need for clear guidelines on the use of AI in scientific visualization.
Nikon has not yet announced a final decision on the entry, but the outcome could set a precedent for how AI is used in scientific competitions. We plan to update the Nikon Small World community next week,
the company said in a statement. For now, the video remains displayed as the winning entry on Nikon’s official competition website. The incident has also drawn comparisons to other controversies, such as the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards Creative Open category winning image.