Albania Appoints World's First AI Minister, Sparking Controversy and Debate

Leader of Albania Pelted With Trash for Appointing AI-Powered Minister to Cabinet

The world's first AI government official is going about as well as anyone could expect. Yesterday, the virtual assistant "Diella" made its "inaugural address" to the Albanian parliament. Maybe unsurprisingly, the software -- which had been appointed Minister for Public Procurements last week by prime minister Edi Rama -- was met with fury by certain officials. Chaotic video shared by Albanian media group Report TV shows lawmakers from the opposition party throwing bottles and desk clutter at the prime minister and his cabinet members, after previous attempts to block the address failed. "This marked the end of the first session of the new legislature," the video caption reads. In its "speech" -- if you can call it that -- Diella took aim at opponents who protested the appointment on constitutional grounds. "Some have called me 'unconstitutional' because I am not a human being," the program chimed. "Let me remind you, the real danger to constitutions has never been the machines but the inhumane decisions of those in power." The opposition party, the Democratic Party of Albania (PD), is a conservative organization which holds slightly less sway than the ruling party, the Socialist Party of Albania, a democratic socialist group. Both camps have grappled with widespread corruption dating back to the implementation of a market economy in the early 1990s. Initially, Rama seemed to float the idea of an AI minister as a tongue-in-cheek threat -- as if to draw attention to the urgent task of tackling political corruption, seen as key for Albania's bid to join the European Union. But in a dumbfounding move, the prime minister went ahead and appointed Diella to his cabinet after all, bestowing it with complete control over all public contracts. This, Rama asserts, will make government logistics "100 per cent corruption-free," adding that "every public fund submitted to the tender procedure will be perfectly transparent." Not everyone shares his optimism. "The goal is nothing more than to attract attention. It is impossible to curb corruption with Diella," PD official and former prime minister Sali Berisha said. The opposition leader, it should be noted, has been mired in a corruption scandal of his own. "Who will control Diella? Diella is unconstitutional, and the Democratic Party will take the matter to the Constitutional Court," Berisha continued. Diella originally began as a text-based virtual assistant to help citizens through the government's e-Albania portal, an electronic services platform. Its "AI" component was developed by Albania's National Agency for Information Society, or AKSHI, using a Microsoft language model. Until now, the program had only facilitated the flow of paperwork and information between government officials and citizens. Whether it's up to the task of autonomously wrangling public procurements for the country of 3.1 million remains to be seen.

Watch the world's first AI-powered minister delivering a speech

If we told you that Albania has just appointed its first AI minister, you'd probably assume that someone has been put in charge of overseeing policy related to artificial intelligence. But you'd be wrong. Because what it actually means is that the minister is an AI-powered avatar. The world's first AI-powered minister, called Diella (meaning "sunshine" in Albanian), is actually the Minister for Public Procurement. And yes, it all feels a bit odd. Appointed this month, Diella is supposed to be entirely corruption-free and fully transparent, with the AI element apparently helping to ensure that from hereon in, public tenders will be conducted efficiently and without political influence or misconduct. Diella also powers e-Albania, a platform offering digital access to government services. Strictly speaking, Diella is a government-appointed AI with ministerial functions, but lacks the formal legal and constitutional status of a human minister. Still, the excitement around the bizarre appointment hasn't stopped Albanian prime minister Edi Rama going so far as to suggest that one day even his role might be performed by AI. Diella was introduced to the people of Albania, population 2.7 million, in a video (top) released by the government, which, for now at least, remains mostly made up of humans. "Some have labelled me unconstitutional because I am not a human being," the unelected Diella says in the video, adding that "the real danger to constitutions has never been machines, but human decisions made by those in power." The virtual assistant insists it is "not here to replace human beings, but to help them," adding: "Indeed, I have no citizenship but I have no ambitions or personal interests either. I only have data at my disposal. I am eager to learn new information, and I have algorithms at my disposal, so that I can put all of this at the service of citizens, with impartiality, transparency, and without ever tiring." But Diella's arrival has not gone down well with opposition parties, with former prime minister and opposition leader Sali Berisha commenting that "the goal is nothing more than to attract attention." Berisha added: "It is impossible to curb corruption with Diella. Who will control Diella? Diella is unconstitutional, and the Democratic Party will take the matter to the Constitutional Court." Albania currently ranks 80th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's corruption index and needs to clean up its act if it's to have any chance of achieving its ambition of joining the European Union. By comparison, the U.S. ranks 27th and the U.K. 20th, while the bottom two countries are Somalia and South Sudan. Denmark and Finland come top. It's certainly going to be fascinating to see how Dellia performs and whether other governments follow suit and deploy their own AI-powered ministers. While AI can certainly be used in the machinery of government to speed up decision-making and provide services for citizens, actually fronting a government department with the technology is an extraordinary step. Some observers may believe that "it couldn't do any worse than the current lot" ... but maybe it could. Truth be told, a government full of AI-powered avatars seems a long way off.

AI-generated 'minister' makes debut in Albanian parliament

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The world's first AI-generated government "minister" has been introduced to the Albanian parliament to a mixed reception. The so-called state minister for artificial intelligence, named Diella, appeared in front of parliament with a three-minute address delivered on two screens on Thursday, almost a week after Prime Minister Edi Rama revealed it would be part of his cabinet. Mr Rama said he was presenting Diella - the female form of the word for 'sun' in the Albanian language - as a symbol of his government's push for transparency and innovation, assigning it the task of addressing corruption concerns. The avatar, which was depicted as a woman wearing traditional Albanian dress, told MPs: "I am not here to replace people but to help them. "True, I have no citizenship, but I have no personal ambition or interests either. "I assure you that I embody such values as strictly as every human colleague, maybe even more," it added. Opposition lawmakers objected, arguing the move was unconstitutional as the bot is not human, does not hold Albanian nationality and could lead to more corruption. They banged their hands on their tables as the video played, and boycotted a vote on the programme, but it passed anyway with 82 votes in favour in the 140-seat parliament. Read more: MI6 uses dark web to recruit spies Meta announces new smart glasses - and we've tried them Justifying itself in its speech, the bot said: "The constitution speaks of institutions at the people's service. It doesn't speak of chromosomes, of flesh or blood. "It speaks of duties, accountability, transparency, non-discriminatory service." Socialist Mr Rama, who won a fourth term in office in May, argued that the bot would help the government work faster and with full transparency. Diella was developed earlier this year in partnership with Microsoft and uses the latest AI models and methods to ensure accuracy in carrying out its responsibilities, according to Albania's National Agency for Information Society. It is part of his larger plan to highlight the nation's technological innovations as the government works toward European Union membership, which it has pledged to secure within five years.

Who is Diella, world's first AI-generated minister? Here's what Albania's new minister said in first parliament speech and what does Diella mean

Who is Diella, world's first AI-generated minister? Albania has appointed Diella, an AI minister, to oversee public tenders. Diella addressed parliament, defended its role, and promised transparency in governance. Who is Diella, world's first AI-generated minister? Albania has made history by appointing Diella, an artificial intelligence program, as a government minister. Prime Minister Edi Rama introduced Diella to oversee public tenders and ensure transparency. The AI minister made its first speech in parliament, defending its constitutional role and addressing corruption concerns. Albania has become the first country in the world to appoint an artificial intelligence program as a government minister. Diella, which means "Sun" in Albanian, was introduced last week by Prime Minister Edi Rama and has now made its first speech in parliament. Who is Diella, world's first AI-generated minister? Diella delivered its first message to lawmakers in a video format, appearing as a woman in traditional Albanian dress. The AI minister said it was not a threat to the constitution but argued that the "real danger" came from the inhumane decisions made by people in positions of power. Diella explained that its purpose was not to replace human officials but to support them. The AI also responded to accusations of being unconstitutional. It highlighted that Albania's laws speak about duties, responsibilities, and transparency without discrimination. Also Read: D4vd Scandal Twist: Did singer write song for Celeste Rivas and what resurfaced viral social media posts reveal? All big surprising revelations explained Who is Diella, world's first AI-generated minister? Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that Diella would be tasked with overseeing all public tenders. Rama said the aim was to ensure every public fund submitted to tenders would be transparent and free of corruption. He explained that the use of AI would help eliminate human bias in decision-making and make the process "100 per cent corruption-free." Diella was first launched in January as a digital assistant on the e-Albania platform, which provides official documents and services to citizens. Its role was then expanded into a ministerial position. The government said the AI would now be responsible for handling one of the country's most sensitive areas: the awarding of contracts. Corruption has long been a challenge for Albania. According to Transparency International, the country ranks 80th out of 180 on the global corruption index. Several politicians and officials have faced allegations of graft. The mayor of Tirana, a former close ally of Rama, is currently in pretrial detention on charges linked to corruption in public contracts and alleged money laundering. Also Read: Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 5: What time will new episode premiere? Release date, time, where to watch, title, what to expect and Episode 4 recap The appointment of Diella has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders. Former prime minister and opposition leader Sali Berisha said the AI was "unconstitutional." He claimed the move was intended to attract international attention rather than solve corruption. Berisha questioned who would control Diella and insisted that the Democratic Party would take the matter to the Constitutional Court. The fight against corruption is central to Albania's efforts to join the European Union. Rama has set a target for Albania to become an EU member by 2030. The introduction of Diella is presented as a step toward proving transparency and reform. However, the debate over its constitutional validity and effectiveness in fighting corruption is likely to continue. Diella is Albania's AI-generated government minister, launched by Prime Minister Edi Rama to manage public tenders. It aims to ensure transparency and eliminate corruption in the tendering process. Opposition leaders argue Diella is unconstitutional and cannot replace human responsibility. They believe it is symbolic and will not effectively address corruption problems in the country.