Albania’s AI-Generated Minister “Diella”
Background
Albania appointed “Die++lla”, the world’s first AI-generated Minister, to oversee public tenders (government contracts).
Move announced by PM Edi Rama, who claimed it will ensure tenders are “100% corruption-free”.
Albania ranks 80/180 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. Corruption in public funds has been a major barrier to its EU accession goals.
Key Features of Appointment
Virtual Minister → Does not require pay, has “no personal interests” (nepotism reference).
Portfolio → Public tenders (highly corruption-prone sector).
Accountability Clause → PM Rama issued a decree taking responsibility for Diella’s functioning.
Concerns Raised
Technical Concerns
Diella likely works on Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT/Gemini.
Risks: biased/incomplete data, misinterpretation of documents, failure to detect collusion.
Political Concerns
Opposition: “Who controls Diella?” → Lack of clarity on accountability.
Fear of delegitimising democracy → Replacing deliberation with “machine answers”.
Ethical Concerns
AI reflects societal biases → Cannot be assumed “incorruptible”.
Danger of blind trust in technology without transparency in algorithms.