Fez – Albania has named an artificial intelligence program a cabinet member, making global headlines as one of the first governments to give AI a formal role in public service. The move, Prime Minister Edi Rama said, is aimed at ending corruption in public tenders.
Diella, which means “sun” in Albanian, has served citizens on the state’s e-Albania portal since January, helping them navigate government services digitally. On Thursday, Rama announced that the virtual assistant would take on a much bigger task: overseeing all public procurement.
The Albanian leader described Diella as “the first cabinet member who is not physically present, but has been virtually created by AI.” He argued the change would ensure that “all public spending in the tender process is 100% clear,” adding that responsibility for awarding contracts would gradually be removed from ministries and entrusted to the system.
Public tenders have long been a flashpoint in Albania, a country where corruption scandals often intersect with organized crime. By using AI to evaluate contracts and select winners, Rama said he hopes to create a system immune to bribes, threats, and conflicts of interest.
The announcement was made during the ruling Socialist Party’s annual conference in Tirana, where Rama emphasized that the innovation was not only a technological tool but “an active participant in governance.” On the e-Albania platform, Diella appears dressed in traditional costume, a symbolic nod to national identity with a futuristic twist.
Reactions are mixed. Some Albanian media praised the move as a “major transformation” in the way government power is exercised. Social media users, however, expressed skepticism. One user wrote, “In Albania, even Diella will be corrupted.”
The rollout will begin gradually. Diella is tasked with reviewing procurement processes while ministries shift oversight responsibilities step by step.
The experiment has placed Albania at the center of an ongoing global debate on the role of artificial intelligence in governance and accountability. Whether Diella can resist political interference where human officials have not remains to be seen.
