Diella: the “AI Minister”
A few days ago, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama unveiled Minister “Diella,” a proposal that evokes a fascinating blend of the Minds from Iain Banks’s Culture saga and “The Waldo Moment,” the memorable 2013 episode of Black Mirror. What follows is a brief chronology of events.
Chronology and facts
On September 11, Prime Minister Edi Rama presented Diella, an AI-generated “minister” (a digital avatar/assistant) that the government describes as part of the cabinet. Diella is not a person; it is an AI bot/avatar that has already served as the virtual assistant for the state e-Albania platform, with millions of interactions. Now, however, it is being “elevated” to a symbolic/operational ministerial rank (see AP News; The Guardian). Rama argued that Diella will oversee and award public procurement to fight corruption and shield tenders from bribes, pressure, or favoritism. The very next day, on September 12, the international press picked up the story with headlines along the lines of “the world’s first AI minister” (see Semafor). On September 18, Diella made its parliamentary debut with a short speech (roughly three minutes) during a tense session in which the opposition walked out. The opposition questions the constitutionality and legitimacy of the proposal and says it is nothing more than a smokescreen for corruption.