Mohammedia – Albania has appointed an AI-bot named Diella as its first virtual minister, tasked with overseeing all public tenders to combat corruption and ensure transparency in government contracts.
On Thursday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama introduced Diella (meaning "sun" in Albanian) as the country’s new virtual minister for public procurement. Previously a virtual assistant on the e-Albania platform, Diella’s role has been elevated as of September 2025 to manage the awarding of government contracts, aiming to minimize bias, bribery, and political influence.
Prior to this cabinet-level position, Diella helped citizens navigate government services online, assisting with tasks like document issuance and bureaucratic procedures. Since her launch in January 2025, Diella has processed tens of thousands of digital documents and handled numerous services, often through voice or digital interactions.
In her new capacity, Diella will oversee public tenders—contracts for private companies involved in building, infrastructure, and other government projects. Her role will involve evaluating bids and determining which contracts are awarded.
The initiative aims to reduce the corruption that has plagued Albania’s procurement system for years. Prime Minister Rama expressed hope that Diella will help Albania become “a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption.”
One of the key goals is to increase transparency in the use of public funds, with the country hoping this step will address long-standing governance and corruption issues that have hindered its European Union membership bid.
A Bold Experiment
The Albanian government believes Diella will streamline administrative processes, making them faster, more objective, and less susceptible to human bias. The plan includes ensuring that every public tender is fully transparent and gradually transferring more decision-making powers from human ministries to the AI minister.
However, not everyone is convinced the approach will succeed. Some critics question whether appointing a non-human entity to a ministerial role is constitutional, and others raise concerns about accountability, asking who will oversee Diella’s decisions and how the system will be protected from manipulation.
Public skepticism is also high, with many questioning whether a digital system can truly eradicate corruption. Transparency will be crucial, and making Diella’s decisions, tender evaluations, and underlying code publicly accessible will likely be key to gaining public trust.
The success of this reform will ultimately be judged by its ability to reduce delays, cut costs, and prevent corruption in practice. If successful, Diella could become a groundbreaking model for using AI to improve public administration.