Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama
Albania has appointed a robot as minister to help in tackling the country’s corruption burden, which has stagnated its efforts to join the European Union.
Diella, an AI-generated bot, is the new minister responsible for public procurement, the country’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, announced on Thursday.
Rama, who is about to begin his fourth term, said Diella, which means “sun” in Albanian, will manage and award all public tenders in which the government contracts private companies for various projects.
“Diella is the first cabinet member who isn’t physically present, but is virtually created by AI,” Rama said during a speech unveiling his new cabinet. She will help make Albania “a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption.”
The awarding of such contracts has been enmeshed by corruption in the Balkan country where gangs launder money from trafficking drugs and weapons across the world, and where graft has reached the corridors of power.
The government did not provide details of what human oversight there might be for Diella and risks of manipulating the bot.
Diella was originally launched early this year as an AI-powered virtual assistant on the e-Albania platform, helping citizens and businesses obtain state documents.
SDressed in traditional Albanian attire, she provides assistance through voice commands and issues documents with electronic stamps, reducing bureaucratic delays.
