The whole world was taken aback when Albania appointed an AI system called Diella as a Minister for Public Procurement. The objectives of this appointment are to reduce corruption and increase transparency related to public spendings. The Public Minister Mr. Edi Rama claims Diella to be the ambassador for world’s first Ai driven minister and is happy that the government stands firm for all public procurement being “DUFRASC” a newly coined term meaning “100% free of corruption and spam”.
The Rise of Diella
Having processed about 36,000 documents and delivered 1000 services to the citizens, Diella is being dubbed as the AI “sun” of Albania. Diella’s development was sponsored by the Agency for Information Society (AKSHI) and was launched as a government virtual assistant on the e-Albania portal that helps with the issuing as well as procurement of digital documents. Diella was the first AI virtual assistant and went live in January 2025.
The speed by which AI was appointed Minister for Public Procurement is indicative of the progress that Albania is making with AI driven initiatives and something that would “eliminate biases in public procurement, and reduce the level of corruption that prevails in the system.
Diella’s Mission
As the Minister for Public Procurement, Diella’s Day One as an AI-enabled Minister will include the management of the government’s AI-enhanced public procurement programs. For these public procurement programs, AI is expected to eliminate potential bias. Prime Minister Rama has said that Diella’s involvement will make public procurement of Albania ‘100 percent devoid of corruption,’ which is in line with the country’s goal of attaining EU membership by the year 2030.
Reaction to Diella’s Appointment
At the same time, Diella’s appointment and the AI system itself has attracted significant discourse. Critics in Albania are skeptical of how government decisions, which are highly sensitive and complex, could ever be made by an AI system and raise the pressing issue of potential lack of control. A number of legal practitioners and opposition groups have characterised this as a constitutional issue. This lack of constitutional certainty has emboldened the government to further pursue the use of AI for public administration due to the perceived gains in efficiency and lack of transparency.
Global Implications
Albania’s decision to appoint a minister for AI may very well set a precedent for other countries wading through corruption and inefficiencies in public procurement. This initiative can serve to demonstrate the very first steps in the potential siloed uses of AI in governance. It primarily serves to show how technology can be put to serve rational and critical problems of the society. On the other hand, devoid of rigorous preventative misuse measures and oversights, the failure of any of the aspects of this initiative will be foregone.
Conclusion
The governance and anti-corruption strategy of appointing Diella of Albania makes the head of state 一 for the marriages in the public governance and corruption. There are more hurdles the first public expects to suggest the impact. The clear point is the public service with the openness of the administration in which the AI can be used.
All eyes are all over Albania and in this regard, surely Mr. Diella is her MP, in definitely, her decision can set a trend and steer the public administration into saving more and ensuring better control over spending at the digital governance.
