The First World Minister of AI will eliminate corruption, says Albania Prime Minister

For government officials to be called “heartless” is a danger to professionals. But Albania has chosen to turn this insult into positive quality by appointing AI minister.

He is not Minister of Artificial Intelligence. More recently a member of the cabinet, which is literally the work of AI.

The new addition is like a pop star known simply by one name: Diela.

Prime Minister Eddie Rama presented her as a member of her new cabinet on Thursday, four months after her fourth term as a term in May.

However, this move was symbolic and not official, since the Albania Constitution insists that government ministers should be mentally competent citizens at least 18 years old.

However, the benefits of appointing a bot over a person are obvious.

Diela, whose name means Albanian sun, is unlikely to be the source of any unsuccessful leaks for the government. It will only be hungry for energy in the sense of electricity it consumes. And a scandal with bad costs seems to be off.

In fact, corruption was the worst in Rama’s mind when she made Diela part of his team as a minister of public procurement.

Its role will be to ensure that Albania will become “a country where public offers are 100% without corruption.”

“We work with a brilliant team that is not only Albanian but also international to go out with the first full AI model in public procurement,” the prime minister told the BBC.

“Not only will we delete any potential impact on public offers -we will also make the process much faster, much more efficient and completely responsible.”

Diela was already working in Albania even before the government’s appointment. Her first incarnation was like a virtual assistant, powered by AI, directing candidates through the process to receive official documents.

Rama is proud that Diela has “helped more than a million applications” on the E-Albania platform. But his vision for the role of the AI ​​government is much larger than a regular chatbot.

He talks about “jumps” larger, more advanced countries that are still locked in “traditional ways of working.”

The reactions of Diela’s new role are, understandable, mixed. The Democratic Party of the opposition has defined the initiative “ridiculous” and “non -constitutional”.

But others are cautiously optimistic.

The founder of the financial services company Balkans Capital, Aneida Bajraktari Bicja, notes that Eddie Rama “often mixes the reform with theatrical, so natural people wonder if it is symbolism.” But she says the “AI Minister” can be constructive if it becomes real systems that improve transparency and trust in public procurement. “

Corruption experts also noted the AI ​​potential to be implemented to minimize the graft.

“AI is still a new tool -but if it is programmed correctly when you run an offer online, you can see clearly and more closely if a company is eligible and criteria,” says Dr. Andy Hoxhai of King’s College London, a specialist in the Western Balkans, corruption and the rule of law.

He believes that Albania’s rapid progress in joining the EU and promoting Brussels to end the negotiations by 2027 means that the country has a powerful incentive to deal with the graft.

“There is a lot of bet,” he says. “The EU’s main assumption is to deal with corruption. If (dieel) is a vehicle or mechanism that can be used for this purpose, it is worth exploring.”

Eddie Rama does not deny that there is an element of publicity of his last wheezing. But he insists that there is serious intentions behind the playful presentation.

“This puts pressure on other cabinet members and national agencies to run and think differently. This is the biggest advantage I expect from this minister,” he says.

In other words, ministers beware: AI can also come for your work.