Albania’s government AI-powered virtual assistant, which helps citizens obtain everything from driver’s licenses to pension applications and court filings, has just become one of the world’s first AI politicians.
“Diella is the first cabinet member who isn’t physically present, but is virtually created by AI,” and jas been tasked with keeping Albania “100% free of corruption,” Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama reportedly said in a National Assembly of the Socialist Party on Thursday.
Its task will be to oversee all government procurement of goods and services from the private sector, which has led to a series of corruption scandals in Albania in recent decades.
Reports state that Diella, which means “sun” in Albanian, had been serving as an AI-powered virtual assistant on the e-Albania platform, helping citizens and businesses obtain various state documents through voice commands and issuing documents with electronic stamps to reduce bureaucratic delays.
Diella has reportedly helped issue more than 36,600 digital documents and provided nearly 1,000 services through the platform.
Rama, however, didn’t provide much detail on who would be accountable for mistakes made by Diella, what human oversight would exist, or how risks of the AI being manipulated would be handled.
AI bots are making their way through governments
It marks one of the first major government roles held by an AI bot in history. Last May, Ukraine unveiled “Victoria Shi,” an AI-generated spokesperson providing updates on matters of foreign affairs.
👋 Meet Victoria Shi — a digital representative of the MFA of Ukraine, created using AI to provide timely updates on consular affairs!
For the first time in history, the MFA of Ukraine has presented a digital persona that will officially comment for the media. pic.twitter.com/KTtuCVR1ku
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) May 1, 2024
Albania appears to have embraced AI more than crypto in recent years. While establishing a crypto regulatory framework in May 2020 — one of the most comprehensive pieces of crypto legislation in Europe at the time — the Bank of Albania has continued to issue warnings regarding the risks associated with trading crypto, slowing adoption.
Albania plagued by corruption for decades
While Albania remains a peaceful country, it has long been a hot spot for organized crime, with some officials having been accused of benefiting from contracts.
Earlier this year, Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, and Illir Meta, Albania’s former president and leader of the opposition Freedom Party, were charged with corruption.
In 2023, Lefter Koka, the country’s former environmental minister, was sentenced to over six years in prison for accepting a 3.7 million euro ($4.34 million) bribe linked to a construction project.
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Corruption has held Albania back from becoming a member of the European Union since it became a candidate country in 2014.
Rama, however, is hopeful that his country will receive membership by 2030.
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