A new minister in Albania who is tasked with managing public procurement will not be affected by bribes, threats or exploitation efforts. That is because Diella, her name, is an AI-generated bot.
On September 11, Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the appointment of Diella - an artificial intelligence - to the position of Minister of Management and approved all public bidding packages. He emphasized that Diella cannot be bribed, threatened or affected to be biased, contributing to building a transparent bidding environment, completely eliminating corruption.
In his speech introducing the new cabinet, Mr. Rama said that Diella is the first cabinet member not physically present but created by AI.
He expects Diella's arrival to help Albania achieve its goal of becoming a country with a public and transparent bidding system, aiming to join the European Union by 2030, although many experts say the plan is ambitious.
Corruption related to public contracts has long been a major problem in Albania, a country in the Balkan region that is considered a transit point for drug and weapons smuggling gangs. Corruption scandals have undermined the country's reputation and affected its European integration.
Diella was initially introduced as a virtual assistant on the e-Albania platform, supporting people and businesses to apply for state documents. With the image of wearing traditional costumes, Diella is capable of communicating by voice, issuing electronic documents and minimizing delays due to administrative procedures.
However, the government has not yet announced details about the human monitoring mechanism for Diella's operations, as well as measures to prevent the risk of exploitation or manipulation.
This has caused many opinions to express skepticism. One social media user was skeptical: Corruption will continue and Diella will become an excuse to blame.
The newly elected parliament in May is scheduled to hold its first session on September 12, but it is unclear whether the government will approve it on the same day.
