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June 23, 20260 citationsOpen Access

When "Open to All" Threatens Sustainability: AI, Bots, and the Future of Open Repositories

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AMAaron McColloughTMTom MorrellMSMirek Simek

Key Points

  • This panel aims to explore the dual role of artificial intelligence in enhancing and challenging the sustainability of open repositories.
  • Panel discussion featuring voices from service providers, institutional implementers, and research infrastructure.
  • Examination of AI-related challenges faced by open repositories, including bot management and resource consumption.
  • Presentation of institutional experiences and discussion on mitigation strategies.
  • AI enhances repository functions like submission workflows and discoverability.
  • Repositories face threats from aggressive bot scraping, negatively impacting resource availability for legitimate users.
  • Human costs include curators dealing with spam submissions and the burden of increasing bot traffic.

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence presents both unprecedented opportunities and unexpected challenges for open repositories. This panel brings together voices from across the InvenioRDM community - service providers, institutional implementers, and large-scale research infrastructure - to explore how AI is reshaping repository sustainability. AI offers genuine enhancements: intelligent submission workflows, automated curation assistance, and improved discoverability. Yet aggressive AI scraping behavior threatens the infrastructure enabling openness. At the recent CNI meeting, bot management emerged as a critical institutional concern. Repositories face scraper waves consuming resources at denial-of-service scales, preventing legitimate user access. Caltech has experienced similar challenges across InvenioRDM and EPrints platforms. Beyond infrastructure, there's a human cost: curators battling AI-generated spam submissions, predatory content, and relentless bot traffic. CERN's recent analysis reveals the toll on repository staff. This panel presents concrete institutional experiences, examines mitigation strategies and trade-offs, and facilitates discussion about collective responses. How do we embrace AI's benefits while managing its challenges? When does "Open to All" become unsustainable? Attendees will gain practical insights, real-world data, and join a crucial conversation about open repositories' future in an AI-saturated landscape.

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Cite This Study

McCollough et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a3a225d111626ef22ab6febhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20788969
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