Why Open Small AI Models Matter for Interactive Art
It addresses the problem of artistic independence and technological self-determination for interactive artists, though it is incremental in advocating for existing open models in a specific domain.
This position paper argues that open small AI models are crucial for interactive art, as they provide artists with control, autonomy, and sustainability compared to closed-source corporate systems, which impose limitations like content filters and latency issues.
This position paper argues for the importance of open small AI models in creative independence for interactive art practices. Deployable locally, these models offer artists vital control over infrastructure and code, unlike dominant large, closed-source corporate systems. Such centralized platforms function as opaque black boxes, imposing severe limitations on interactive artworks, including restrictive content filters, preservation issues, and technical challenges such as increased latency and limited interfaces. In contrast, small AI models empower creators with more autonomy, control, and sustainability for these artistic processes. They enable the ability to use a model as long as they want, create their own custom model, either by making code changes to integrate new interfaces, or via new datasets by re-training or fine-tuning the model. This fosters technological self-determination, offering greater ownership and reducing reliance on corporate AI ill-suited for interactive art's demands. Critically, this approach empowers the artist and supports long-term preservation and exhibition of artworks with AI components. This paper explores the practical applications and implications of using open small AI models in interactive art, contrasting them with closed-source alternatives.