Diella, a bot generated by artificial intelligence in Albania, was appointed as new minister of the country to combat corruption. AI will be in charge of taking care of public contracts, as well as being immune to bribes, threats or attempts to obtain favors.
The country’s prime minister, Edi Rama, who is about to start his fourth term in Albania, said on Thursday that Diella, which means “sun” in Albanese, will manage all public bids in which the government hires private companies for various projects.
“Diella is the first member of the not physically present, but is virtually created by AI,” Rama said during a presentation speech by her new cabinet. Bot will help make Albania a country where public bids are 100% corruption free. “
The granting of such contracts has been a source of corruption scandals in Albania, a country of the Balkans who, experts, is a gang center that seek to launder money from drug trafficking and weapons worldwide.
This image complicated the adhesion of Albania to the European Union, which Rama wants to reach by 2030, but that political analysts say it is ambitious.
The government has not provided details about human supervision that could be for Diella, nor did it address the risks that someone can manipulate the artificial intelligence bot.
Diella was originally launched earlier this year as a virtual AI assistant on the e-albania platform, which aims to help citizens and companies get documents.
Dressed in traditional Albanian costumes, Diella offers assistance through voice commands and issues documents with electronic stamps, reducing bureaucratic delays.
But not everyone is convinced of the effectiveness of the system. A Facebook user said, “Even Diella will be corrupted in Albania.” Another said, “Thefts will continue and Diella will be held responsible.”
The new parliament, elected in May, is expected to meet this Friday (12), although it is not yet clear if the government will be voted on the same day.
