OpenAI · China · BBC Technology
Tiny image sparks big backlash in Nikon photo contest
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The winning entry of a prestigious scientific photography competition is being re-evaluated following criticism from other scientists that it was made with AI.
Key facts
- Dr Patrick Hickey, who came fifth in the 2026 Small World contest, said the recognition the award represents means more than the $3,000 (£2,250) prize itself
- Nikon's annual Small World In Motion contest accepts photos and video taken using powerful microscopes, and has run annually for the last 15 years
- Meanwhile PhD student Ian Donovan from UT Southwestern Medical Centre said the source image appeared to contain a distinctive watermark indicating it had been AI generated
- The winner was a short video submitted by Dr Ning Xu, a researcher at Tsinghua University in China, which claims to be footage of tiny, hair-like structures called cilia moving inside the airways
Summary
Nikon's annual Small World In Motion contest accepts photos and video taken using powerful microscopes, and has run annually for the last 15 years. The winner was a short video submitted by Dr Ning Xu, a researcher at Tsinghua University in China, which claims to be footage of tiny, hair-like structures called cilia moving inside the airways of a child with a rare disease. Xu did not respond to the BBC's request for comment, but has posted online denying he broke the competition rules. In a response to a post by Nikon on LinkedIn, external, he did not dispute using AI within the image processing but said he remained within the rules of the contest.