Albania Debuts AI Minister in Parliament, Framing It as Transparency Push

An AI-generated government 'minister' was debuted in the Albanian parliament on Thursday, with Prime Minister Edi Rama presenting the bot as a symbol of the government's push for transparency and innovation. The avatar, named Diella—meaning sun in Albanian—was depicted as a woman in traditional Albanian dress and delivered a three-minute address from two large screens.

"The Constitution speaks of institutions at the people's service. It doesn't speak of chromosomes, of flesh or blood," the avatar said. "It speaks of duties, accountability, transparency, non-discriminatory service." "I assure you that I embody such values as strictly as every human colleague, maybe even more," the bot added. "I am not here to replace people but to help them. True I have no citizenship, but I have no personal ambition or interests either."

Diella was created earlier this year in cooperation with Microsoft as a virtual assistant on the e-Albania public service platform. It has helped users navigate the site and access about 1 million digital inquiries and documents.

Rama argued that the AI-generated minister will help the government work faster and with full transparency. It is one element in a broader plan to highlight Albania's technological innovations as the country moves toward European Union membership, with a target of joining the bloc by 2030.

Opposition lawmakers were highly critical of the move, contending Diella could be used to obscure graft. They banged their hands on their tables, pressing the speaker to cut short the debate on the government program. The session ended after 25 minutes. The opposition boycotted a vote on the cabinet's program, though the measure passed anyway with 82 votes in favor in the 140-seat parliament. The opposition did not explain how it thinks the government would exploit Diella to hide corruption in public finances.

Diella's creator, and its ongoing role as a public-service aide on e-Albania, underscores a broader European-Union-accession strategy for Albania. Officials describe the bot as a tool to improve accessibility to government services and to demonstrate a commitment to transparent, technology-driven governance.

Supporters say the project illustrates how AI can assist public administration without replacing human workers, pointing to Diella's current function as a navigational aid for digital inquiries and documents rather than a policymaking agent. "I am not here to replace people but to help them," the avatar said in its address to parliament. "True I have no citizenship, but I have no personal ambition or interests either."