Albania's AI Minister
Albania has introduced Diella, an AI as a virtual minister for public procurement. This move, which included a parliamentary appearance on September 18, 2025, aims to fight corruption and increase transparency. While Prime Minister Edi Rama speaks of a target of 100 percent corruption-free procurement, the opposition calls the appointment unconstitutional. Diella, based on Microsoft technologies, is an evolution of a virtual assistant for the e-Albania platform. Her role as "Minister" is virtual; she is a digital system, not a sworn-in person. This article outlines the background, current status, motivations, and the open questions surrounding Albania's AI minister.
Quelle: Eigene Darstellung
Introduction: Albania's AI Minister
Albania has introduced an AI named Diella as a virtual minister for public procurement. Her first appearance in Parliament occurred on September 18, 2025. Diella's main task is to make public procurement cleaner. Prime Minister Edi Rama stated the goal of making awards 100 percent corruption-free. The opposition described the move as unconstitutional. Diella is based on a virtual assistant already launched in January for the e-Albania platform and was reportedly implemented with Microsoft technologies.
Diella is not a person, but software with an avatar that answers questions and accompanies procedures. Since January 2025, she has assisted in e-Albania, the one-stop portal for government services, step by step – by text and voice. Public procurement means everything that the state and municipalities buy, centrally via E-Procurement in Albania. The designation "Minister" here is virtual: Diella spoke as a digital system, not as a person who was sworn in.
Diella's Development and Appearance
In January 2025, the government introduced Diella as the new e-Albania assistant. Reports highlighted the use of Azure OpenAI. On September 11, 2025, Rama announced making Diella the responsible "Minister" for public procurement. Step by step, procurement decisions would be reviewed and awarded by the AI. On September 18, 2025, Diella delivered a roughly three-minute speech in Parliament. Rama received 82 of 140 votes for his fourth term on the same day. In her speech, Diella emphasized: "Not here to replace humans". The opposition protested vigorously, calling it unconstitutional.
Quelle: YouTube
This short video of the parliamentary appearance is useful to see the gestures, duration, and statements of the Diella avatar in the original context.
Backgrounds and Motivations
The Diella project is driven by several motivations. First, the EU track toward 2030. Rama sets membership as a guiding star and links it to reforms, including procurement. Second, the corruption situation: Albania ranks CPI 2024 at 42/100 — 80th — an improvement, but still room for action. Third, political communication: an "AI Minister" generates enormous attention, domestically and internationally. Added is a governance test: who bears ultimate responsibility when an algorithm decides on billions, and what does the oversight look like? So far the technical and legal details are missing, such as training data, bias tests, appeal and audit processes.
Quelle: news9live.com
Diella, Albania's AI Minister, blends traditional Albanian aesthetics with futuristic technology.
Fact-Checking and Open Questions
It is documented that Diella was presented as a virtual "Minister" and spoke in Parliament for about three minutes on September 18, 2025. Rama also received 82 votes for his fourth term. It is also documented that Diella evolved from the e-Albania assistant and reports name Microsoft/Azure OpenAI as a technology building block.
Quelle: dawn.com
Diella speaks as an AI minister before the Albanian Parliament, a novelty in world politics.
Legal status as a "Minister" remains unclear. From the opposition’s perspective, this is unconstitutional; the government speaks of support, not replacement. Concrete decrees, control mechanisms, and avenues for complaints have not been detailed publicly. The claim that "humans will be replaced by AI ministers" is false or misleading. So far there is no evidence that ministries are being abolished or that human oversight will disappear; rather, a gradual handover and support is being discussed.
Opposition leader Sali Berisha spoke of a legal breach and called for a debate before government confirmation. International media acknowledge the innovation claim but warn against symbolic politics without safeguards. Side voices point out that there have been AI advisors before (e.g., Ion in Romania), but no AI with minister rank.
Implications and Recommendations
When AI participates in procurement decisions, three things matter: transparency, accountability, and avenues for complaints. Monitor whether Albania publishes audit reports, model cards, or external reviews. Compare announcements with real procedural steps in the E-Procurement and civil-society monitoring portals such as openprocurement.al. For source verification, primarily rely on initial reports from major agencies (Reuters, AP) and the original government sites.
Quelle: tribuneonlineng.com
Prime Minister Edi Rama and the symbolic representation of Albania's AI Minister Diella, highlighting Albania's ambitions in digitalization.
Open questions remain: What legal basis exactly governs Diella\'s competence – recommendation, pre-screening, or binding procurement decision – and who signs off in the end? Are there mandatory independent audits, bias checks, appeal periods and human oversight bodies? How are training data documented, including access to non-public procurement data? And does this align with Albania\'s EU accession roadmap to 2030, which places the rule of law at the center?
Conclusion: Experiment and Outlook
Albania is taking a big gamble with Diella: AI as the visible spearhead of an anti-corruption strategy in procurement. The political will and the symbolic appearance are documented; the legal and technical details remain open. For you, this means focusing on implementation, not the avatar—in other words, on rules, protocols, audits, and real feedback loops. Whoever uses AI for integrity must first measure it against their own transparency.