Creating a better balance: the need for tools and practices to combat AI harvests and resource flooding in repository environments

We have entered a new era when the internet is fueled by massive AI and ML applications, which has significant consequences for the field of open repositories. The resources required to provide normal, quality repository interactions alongside unregulated consumption of data and resources by AI-powered bots is increasingly more tenuous and difficult to accommodate, and challenges our well established ideas of what openness means. Our Digital Services Team at METRO has been implementing a multifaceted approach to combating the rise of AI bot harvest waves that has been escalating over the past year. This approach includes multiple behind the scenes DevOps and code based tactics, and requires high machine and human resources to maintain and consistently scale up as AI bots become more sophisticated and well-resourced. We propose the implementation of standardized "no-AI'' or "regulated AI" use licenses and realistic DevOps practices that could be applied in open repository environments across the globe. We cannot expect the commercial industry of AI/ML data mining to regulate itself, and we need to create consensus in our own community for combating this significant challenge.