Nikon disqualified Dr. Ning Xu of Tsinghua University from first place in the 2026 Small World in Motion microscopy video competition for violating the contest's generative AI rules. Xu admitted using AI to process microscopic images but denied using AI to generate the video itself. Runner-up Nguyen Nam Nhat of Vietnam was promoted to champion.
Japanese optics company Nikon said it is 'carefully re-reviewing' the contest submission by Ning Xu, an optical engineer at the National University of Singapore, after commenters accused his winning video in the 16th Small World in Motion microscopy competition of using AI-generated content, citing abnormal biological structures and a Google DeepMind SynthID watermark.