Albania has appointed an artificial intelligence system to a cabinet position for the first time, tasking it with overseeing public procurement in an effort to eliminate corruption from the awarding of government contracts.
Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the appointment of “Diella” meaning “Sun” in Albanian, during the ruling Socialist Party’s conference in Tirana on Thursday, as he unveiled the line-up of his fourth consecutive government.
Diella, a virtual assistant that has been operating on the state’s e-Albania portal since January, will now take on the role of “servant of public procurement”, according to Rama. On the portal, the AI appears as a female figure dressed in traditional Albanian costume and interacts with users through voice commands. Since its launch, it has guided citizens through a wide range of bureaucratic procedures, providing access to around 95 per cent of government services online.
Rama said the new role would involve transferring responsibility for deciding the winners of public tenders away from government ministries and into the hands of artificial intelligence. This process, he explained, would be implemented gradually, with the aim of ensuring that “all public spending in the tender process is 100 per cent clear”.
The prime minister described Diella as “the first cabinet member who is not physically present, but has been virtually created by AI”, and said the system would assess every tender in which the government contracts private companies. Decisions would be based solely on the merits of each bid, removing the scope for bribery, threats or conflicts of interest.
Public procurement has long been a source of corruption scandals in Albania, a country that experts say has been used by international criminal networks to launder money from drug and arms trafficking. Allegations of graft have reached senior levels of government, and the awarding of state contracts has been repeatedly criticised by domestic and international observers.
Rama, who was re-elected in May, has previously argued that artificial intelligence could be an effective tool in tackling corruption, particularly in areas where human discretion has historically been exploited. He said the introduction of Diella into the cabinet was part of a broader strategy to modernise governance and restore public trust in state institutions.
Albanian media outlets have described the move as “a major transformation in the way the Albanian government conceives and exercises administrative power”, noting that technology is being introduced not merely as a support mechanism but as an active participant in decision-making.
