Albania’s government has done something few other countries have tried: it has put an artificial intelligence program inside the Cabinet.
On Friday, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that an AI-generated figure named Diella—the Albanian word for “sun”—would officially join his new government. Diella is not a person but a virtual entity, a digital minister tasked with one of Albania’s toughest challenges: fighting corruption.
Rama described the appointment in a Facebook post, saying Diella would ensure “public tenders will be 100% free of corruption” and bring “full transparency” to government work. He framed her as a Cabinet member who won’t attend meetings in person but will still have a say in the process.
Diella isn’t entirely new. She was built earlier this year in cooperation with Microsoft and has already been serving as a virtual assistant on Albania’s e-Albania digital services platform, where she’s helped handle more than a million public requests. Depicted in the costume of a traditional Albanian folk character, Diella has become a recognizable face online.
Now Rama is giving her a bigger stage. The move comes after his Socialist Party secured a fourth consecutive term in May’s elections, winning 83 out of 140 seats in parliament. With that majority, Rama doesn’t need coalition partners to govern, though his party lacks the two-thirds supermajority needed for constitutional changes. Still, his government has promised to steer Albania into the European Union within five years, a pledge met with skepticism by the opposition.
The opposition Democrats, led by former prime minister Sali Berisha, are not impressed. Their parliamentary leader Gazmend Bardhi blasted the AI minister as unconstitutional “buffoonery.” Even President Bajram Begaj, who signed off on Rama forming the new Cabinet, stopped short of calling Diella an actual minister when pressed by reporters. Legal scholars have also noted that the Constitution makes no mention of virtual officials.
Despite the controversy, Rama has been clear about the symbolism: corruption has dogged Albania since the fall of communism in 1990, and Diella is meant to signal a break with the old way of doing politics. By design, she is incorruptible—her code, not her conscience, will guide her.
Still, practical questions remain. Will parliament be asked to formally approve Diella’s “post”? Will her decisions carry legal weight? And how will citizens react to a government that lets an algorithm speak with ministerial authority?
Whether Albanians will see her as a real solution or just a high-tech mascot remains to be seen.
