According to the Associated Press on Wednesday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama appointed a minister for public procurement named Diella the day before. Diella is an Albanian word for sun and female.
“Diella is a non-physical but virtual cabinet member,” Rama said on Facebook, arguing that the appointment of an AI minister would help ensure there is no corruption in the open bidding and increase the transparency of the government. Diella was embodied in the image of a woman in a traditional Albanian costume.
Diella was first created as an AI-based virtual assistant for the e-Albania public service platform in cooperation with Microsoft earlier this year. She has helped search sites and access about 1 million digital inquiries and documents, and has been appointed as a minister this time. BBC said, “The new minister is known only by the name of Diella like a pop star,” adding, “Considering the Albanian constitution, such measures are more symbolic than official.” According to the Albanian constitution, the government minister must be a mentally competent citizen of at least 18 years of age.
“We are working with an internationally outstanding team, not just Albania, to develop the first full AI model in public procurement,” Mr. Rama told the BBC. “We will not only eliminate all potential impacts on open bidding, but also make the process faster, more efficient and fully accountable.” Albania has been battling organised crime and corruption since the collapse of the communist regime in 1990.
The opposition Democratic Party denounced the appointment of Diella as a “outrageous and unconstitutional measure.”
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
