Diella, previously known as a virtual assistant on the government’s website, is set to manage public procurement, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced.
Albania is poised to become the first nation to appoint an AI chatbot as a virtual minister, aiming to curb corruption by employing an incorruptible digital official.
The Balkan country was placed 80th among 180 nations in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for the previous year.
Diella, which translates to ‘sun’ in Albanian, will take charge of all public procurement within the country from now on, Prime Minister Edi Rama declared at a party assembly held in Tirana on Thursday.
The bot was first introduced earlier this year on the e-Albania platform, serving as an AI virtual assistant designed to help citizens navigate government services. Its visual representation is a young brunette woman adorned in traditional Albanian attire.
“Diella represents the inaugural cabinet member who lacks a physical presence but has been virtually brought into existence by AI,” Rama commented.
“Public procurement requires transformation, a process we must progressively shift towards AI, thereby establishing Albania as a nation where public tenders are entirely free from corruption,” he further stated.
The process of awarding public sector contracts in the Balkan state has historically been a significant source of graft scandals, complicating Albania’s aspiration for EU membership ever since it formally received candidate status in 2014.
In recent months, the nation experienced a substantial corruption scandal focused on waste management. Last April, seven former officials faced convictions for charges related to abuse of power.
The European Commission consistently underscores the issue of corruption within the Balkan state as a recurring theme in its rule of law reports.