"Incorruptible": Albania set to become first country to appoint AI as minister
An AI is to become part of the new Albanian government and ensure that public tenders are conducted in an incorruptible and transparent manner.
Diella appears on e-Albania as a woman in traditional Albanian dress.
(Image: @digital.tirana.al)
Albania is to become the first country in the world to have a female AI minister – Not a minister for AI, but an AI system that will act as a minister. This was announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday, reports the political magazine Politico. The AI minister is named Diella (for "sunshine" in Albanian) and is already known to the people of the country as the artificial assistant of the digital administration portal e-Albania. As a member of the government, the chatbot is said to be responsible for awarding public contracts and ensuring that the rampant corruption in this area is curbed. Rama did not explain exactly how this would work and what control mechanisms are planned.
"100 percent incorruptible"
"Diella is the first cabinet member who will not be physically present but will be created virtually by AI," Politico quotes from the prime minister's announcement. Decisions on tenders would be removed from ministries and handed over to Diella, who would act as a "servant of public procurement". The transition would be gradual and, in the end, Albania would be a country in which public tenders would be "100 percent incorruptible" and in which the use of funds would be fully traceable. "This is not science fiction, it is Diella's duty," Politico quotes.
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According to the report, the announcement was made at the congress of the Socialist Party of Albania, which won an absolute majority in the elections in May. Rama had previously promised to lead his country into the EU by 2030, but widespread corruption is seen as a major obstacle. The Prime Minister has long been a fan of AI and hinted in the summer that even his own office could be outsourced to a machine in the future. Although this is not yet the case, the placement of an AI in the cabinet came rather quickly. The Kosovar newspaper Gazeta Express speaks of an "innovative and unexpected step", which shows that technology is not just seen as a tool in Tirana.
(mho)
