GoKawiilNikon strips Ning Xu's cilia video of Small World in Motion top prize over AI use
Nikon Instruments disqualified the winning entry in its Small World in Motion microscopy competition after determining the video violated rules barring AI-generated content. The video, submitted by National University of Singapore engineer Ning Xu and depicting beating airway cilia, had won first place on 15 September before scientists flagged biologically implausible features on social media. Xu said an AI model was used only to enhance visual presentation below the cilia, not to make anatomical claims.