TIRANA, ALBANIA— Albania has become the first country in the world to hire an AI-generated government minister. This is a big step forward that combines technology with government. At a recent meeting of the Socialist Party, Prime Minister Edi Rama unveiled the new “minister,” whose name means “sun” in Albanian. Diella’s main goal is to get rid of corruption in the public procurement sector, which has been a problem in the Balkan country for a long time.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Rama, who was elected to a fourth term in May, introduced the new cabinet member. Rama said, “Diella is the first (government) member who is not physically there but was made by artificial intelligence.” He said that Diella would be in charge of making all decisions about public tenders, making sure that “every public fund submitted to the tender procedure will be perfectly transparent.”
Diella’s appointment is a big step forward in Albania’s fight against corruption, which is still a major goal for the country to join the European Union. Experts say that public bids in Albania have long been a place where corruption scandals happen. Corruption is said to reach the highest levels of government in this country, which is also known as a hub for international criminal networks that deal in drugs and weapons.
Diella has worked with the Albanian government before. The AI was first included in January as a digital assistant to help people use the official e-Albania portal, which gives them access to different government papers and services. In her first job, Diella, whose avatar is a woman in traditional Albanian clothing, has already helped issue more than 36,600 digital documents and offer almost 1,000 services.
Local news outlets have called the nomination “a major change in the way the Albanian government thinks about and uses administrative power, bringing technology into governance as more than just a tool.” People regard the move as a brave test of AI-driven government, and it could serve as a model for other countries that are having trouble with corruption in the public sector.