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Nikon strips a microscopy video prize over AI use
Nikon says the first-place Small World in Motion clip of a child’s airway cilia broke its generative AI rules, and a new winner takes the top spot.
Nikon has disqualified the video that won first place in its 2026 Small World in Motion competition, saying it broke the contest’s rules on generative AI, The Verge reported on Friday 9 October 2026. The clip, by Dr Ning Xu, showed hair-like cilia moving in the airway of a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a respiratory condition.
Scientists questioned the footage soon after the award. Critics doubted that the cell movement matched real cilia, and Nikon began re-examining the entry while Dr Xu supplied documentation on the microscope, imaging methods and processing, TechRadar reported. Dr Xu said on LinkedIn that an unsupervised neural-network method helped post-process the images, and denied using AI to generate the footage or the cilia’s motion, TechRadar reported.
A video by Nguyen Nam Nhat now holds first place. Nikon says it will revisit its rules and judging procedures, and that the decision is no judgement on the entrant’s reputation, scientific work or intent.
For brands running creative contests, the rules need to cover AI-assisted processing as well as fully generated footage.
Sources
- The Verge: Nikon microscopic video competition winner disqualified for using generative AI. Checked
- TechRadar: Nikon fights backlash to contest winner amid AI allegations. Checked
Alexandre S.
Alexandre S. is a creative ad strategist and copywriter with ten years' experience in digital marketing across multiple channels.