Albania appoints World's first AI 'minister' Diella to make public tender '100-percent corruption-free'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Albania appoints World's first AI 'minister' Diella to make public tender '100-percent corruption-free'")
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama addresses the floor during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Priority Europe Summit, at the National Theater, in Tirana on May 17, 2025 Photograph: (AFP)
Albania has appointed Diella, the world’s first AI minister, to oversee public tenders and fight corruption. Prime Minister Edi Rama says the AI will ensure transparency, reduce bias, and transform governance in the Balkans.
Albania has become the first nation to appoint an AI bot as 'minister'. This is an effort to combat corruption and ensure complete transparency. On Thursday, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that the AI bot Diella, which translates to 'sun' in Albanian, will oversee the awarding of all public tenders for private contractors on government projects.
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The Socialist Party Leader, who became the fourth consecutive Prime Minister in May 2025, said during a speech in his cabinet, “Diella is the first cabinet member who isn’t physically present, but is virtually created by AI.” The Balkan country had trouble with public tenders and corruption; it had been at the centre of gang wars, money laundering and drug trafficking, across the world. This AI will reduce human bias, quid pro quo and ensure government tenders are "100 per cent corruption-free".
Originally, Diella was a voice assistant which had been in service since January and was used to advise citizens on bureaucratic tasks required to be performed via voice commands for accessing the full range of citizen services.
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People's reaction on social media was mixed. On the one hand, some praised it. "An AI minister? Albania’s playing 4D chess while the rest of us are still figuring out email signatures.” On the other hand, people were also sceptical about whether there would be any human oversight. What if the AI model is trained on biased data, and how will the government respond to algorithmic error? One user wrote, “This is a perfect Balkan tool for corruption. We didn't do it - AI did.” Another one wrote, “Even Diella will be corrupted in Albania.” The media praised the move, calling it a major transformation in the functioning and exercise of administrative power in Albania.
