'Not Here To Replace People': Albania's AI Minister In First Parliament Address

Last Updated:September 18, 2025, 18:37 IST

The AI minister, named Diella, said the real danger to constitutions is not machines, but the inhumane decisions made by those in power

Albania's new AI-generated minister "Diella" speaks during the parliamentary session for the voting of the new government. (AFP photo)

Albania’s new AI-generated minister, the world’s first AI government minister, made her first speech to parliament on Thursday. In her address, she said the “real danger" to constitutions is not machines, but the “inhumane decisions" made by those in power.

The AI minister, named Diella, meaning “sun" in Albanian, defended her role by saying she is “not here to replace people, but to help them."

Diella was appointed just last week by Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama. In her speech, she responded to critics who called her appointment “unconstitutional" because she is not human.

She said, “Let me remind you, the real danger to constitutions has never been the machines but the inhumane decisions of those in power."

Diella appeared on screen as a woman dressed in traditional Albanian clothing. However, it remains unclear how the video of her speech was created or where the speech itself originated.

PM Rama said last week that Diella would oversee all public tender decisions. He promised the process would be “100 per cent corruption-free" and completely transparent. Diella was first introduced in January as a virtual assistant to help people navigate Albania’s official e-government platform, e-Albania.

Albania currently ranks 80th out of 180 countries on Transparency ’s corruption index. The capital Tirana’s mayor, once a close ally of Rama, has been held in pretrial detention for months over corruption and money laundering allegations linked to public contracts.

However, the AI minister’s appointment has angered the opposition. Albanian former Prime Minister and opposition leader Sali Berisha, who has faced his own corruption accusations, dismissed Diella as a stunt to attract attention.

Berisha said it is impossible to fight corruption with an AI and questioned who would control Diella. Berisha added that the Democratic Party plans to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.

The government’s plan was approved after a heated debate in which the opposition boycotted the vote. Diella also addressed concerns about legality, saying the law requires “duties, responsibilities, transparency, without discrimination," and claimed to embody these values as strictly as any human minister.

Fighting corruption is a key part of Albania’s goal to join the European Union. Rama hopes to lead the country of 2.8 million people into the EU by 2030.

(With inputs from AFP)

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