Using Assisted-by commit footers instead of banning AI tools (xeiaso.net)

Rather than outright banning AI tooling, the piece advocates for mandatory, machine-readable "Assisted-by" commit footers (modeled on Fedora’s AI-Assisted Contributions Policy) that disclose which AI model and tool were used — e.g., "Assisted-by: GPT-OSS 120b via OpenAI Codex." The author suggests embedding this into AGENTS.md and making it the default behavior for AI helpers so contributors are more likely to be honest. They even disclose that the post itself was edited with GPT-OSS 120b, demonstrating the workflow in practice. Technically, this approach makes AI usage detectable and automatable: commit footers can be parsed by CI or bots to tag, route, or flag contributions for reviewers, and to collect telemetry on which models/tools generate problematic outputs. That data can inform policy and tooling recommendations, reduce noisy "witch hunts," and let projects support experimentation while guarding quality. Because tools can auto-insert the footer, compliance is easier than enforcement, and maintainers gain actionable visibility into AI-assisted contributions without banning innovation outright.