World’s first "AI minister" appointed in Albania

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has unveiled a groundbreaking addition to his new cabinet: an artificial intelligence-powered “minister” tasked with rooting out corruption.

The AI figure, named Diella, meaning “sun” in Albanian, was officially introduced on Thursday. Rama described her as a “member of the cabinet who is not present physically,” explaining that her primary role would be to guarantee that “public tenders will be 100 percent free of corruption.”

For decades, the awarding of government tenders has been one of Albania’s most entrenched sources of corruption. With the Balkan nation of 2.8 million pushing hard for European Union membership, tackling graft remains a key benchmark in its accession process. Rama’s Socialist Party, now entering its fourth consecutive term, has pledged that Albania could finalize EU talks by 2027 and secure membership within five years.

Parliament will soon vote on Rama’s new cabinet lineup, though it remains uncertain whether the AI post will be put forward for a formal vote. Legal experts caution that Diella’s status is murky, as she currently appears only on screen, represented as a woman wearing traditional Albanian folk dress.

Gazmend Bardhi, head of the Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, sharply criticized the move, writing on Facebook: “The Prime Minister’s buffoonery cannot be turned into legal acts of the Albanian state.”

Rama has yet to clarify what level of human supervision will be built into the AI system, nor has he addressed concerns that Diella could be vulnerable to manipulation.

Launched earlier this year as part of the government’s e-Albania digital services platform, Diella originally functioned as a virtual assistant. She has since processed 36,600 digital documents and provided nearly 1,000 services for citizens, according to official figures.

The experiment now places Albania among the first countries to grant artificial intelligence a formal role in government, a decision that may test both the legal framework of the state and the EU’s willingness to embrace such innovation.