Why Open Small AI Models Matter for Interactive Art
Mar Canet Sola, Varvara Guljajeva
TL;DR
The paper addresses the problem that proprietary AI platforms constrain interactive art through limited control, opaque infrastructure, and precarious long-term viability. It advocates open small AI models that run locally, detailing their core characteristics, licensing considerations, and practical advantages like low latency and resilience to service changes. Key contributions include a framework for open licensing, justification from artistic preservation needs, and concrete examples of local-inference workflows that support custom interfaces and long-term exhibition. The work highlights practical impact for artists, educators, and researchers by promoting independence, sustainability, and diverse, community-driven AI creativity in interactive art.
Abstract
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.