Prime Minister Edi Rama has "appointed" Diella (which means sun in Albanian), who will be the next holder of the Public Procurement portfolio, immune to bribery, threats or corruption attempts.
The Albanian government will welcome a new member, who will not be a flesh-and-blood person, but a system generated by artificial intelligence. She will be called Diella and will be the next Minister of Public Procurement, immune to bribery, threats or corruption attempts.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has described Diella as a “member of the government who is not physically present, but is virtually created by artificial intelligence.” Rama has also stressed that Diella will help ensure that “public procurement is 100% free from corruption,” by managing and awarding all public contracts where the government enters into agreements with private companies for various projects. However, the Albanian government has not yet explained how the issue of human oversight that may be required for Diella will be handled, nor has it spoken about the potential risks of bot manipulation.
Diella was introduced earlier this year as an artificial intelligence-based virtual assistant on the e-Albania platform, helping Albanian citizens and businesses obtain state documents. Dressed in traditional clothing, she provides service through voice commands and issues documents with electronic seals, reducing delays and improving the efficiency of the bureaucratic apparatus.
Corruption has been a historical problem in Albania, although the situation has been improving in recent years. In 2024, Albania scored 42 out of 100 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), ranking 80th out of 180 countries. Progress in the fight against corruption is crucial on the path to membership in the European Union, where Prime Minister Rama and his Socialist Party aim to conclude negotiations by 2027.
A Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) was established in 2016 to combat the system of corruption and money laundering. This structure has already led to the arrest of several senior politicians, some of whom are from Rama's own party, including former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, former Environment Minister Lefter Koka, and former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj.
The article was published in l'espresso.
https://lespresso.it/c/mondo/2025/9/12/albania-nuova-ministra-intelligenza-artificiale/56869
