Nikon Photo Contest Winner Under Scrutiny Over Alleged AI Use

Nikon's annual Small World In Motion contest is re-evaluating its winning entry after other scientists raised concerns that the submission may have been created using artificial intelligence. The contest, which has run for 15 years, accepts images and videos captured with powerful microscopes.

The winning submission, a video by Dr. Ning Xu of Tsinghua University, purportedly shows the movement of cilia within the airways of a child with a rare disease. Xu has denied breaking the contest's rules, stating that AI was not used to generate the core elements of the video, such as the cilia or their motion. However, he acknowledged that AI was employed to help "distinguish and visualize features in the reconstructed grayscale images."

Critics argue that the video displays shapes and movements inconsistent with biological norms. Dr. Edward Phelps, an associate professor at Florida University, noted on social media that certain structures appear and disappear erratically, and the cilia seem to materialize unexpectedly. Additionally, PhD student Ian Donovan from UT Southwestern Medical Center pointed out a watermark on the source image that suggests it was AI-generated.

Two former judges for the competition have also expressed reservations about the image's authenticity. Nikon stated that Dr. Xu is cooperating with its investigation and has provided additional technical documentation. The company has not yet determined if any rules were violated, but indicated an update would be forthcoming.

Dr. Patrick Hickey, a previous prize winner, emphasized that the recognition from the contest often carries more weight than the monetary prize. He highlighted the blend of science and art in microscopic imagery and noted that it would be unfair to other participants if the winning entry was found to have been enhanced by AI in violation of the rules, which prohibit generative AI for content creation and require the subject to be captured under a microscope.