Albania's AI ‘minister’ makes its debut with an address to parliament

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TIRANA, Albania (AP) — An AI-generated government “minister” made its debut with an address in the Albanian parliament on Thursday, with Prime Minister Edi Rama presenting the bot as a symbol of his government’s push for transparency and innovation.

The government said the bot — named Diella, which means sun in Albanian, and depicted as a woman in traditional Albanian dress — will help tackle corruption in public spending. But opposition lawmakers were highly critical, and believe the program is a way for the government to hide graft.

“The Constitution speaks of institutions at the people’s service. It doesn’t speak of chromosomes, of flesh or blood," the avatar declared in a three-minute address delivered from two large screens. “It speaks of duties, accountability, transparency, non-discriminatory service."

“I assure you that I embody such values as strictly as every human colleague, maybe even more,” added the artificial persona.

Rama argued that the AI-generated bot will help the government work faster and with full transparency. It is one element in a larger plan to highlight the Balkan nation's technological innovations as it works toward European Union membership. Albania hopes to join the 27-member bloc by 2030.

Opposition lawmakers banged their hands on their tables, pushing the speaker to cut short the debate on the government program. The session ended after 25 minutes.

They also boycotted a vote on the Cabinet’s program, but it passed anyway with 82 votes in favor in the 140-seat parliament. The opposition did not explain how it believed the government would exploit Diella to hide corruption in public finances.

Democrats asked for a repeat of the parliamentary session, complaining that the governing Socialists canceled the debate on the Cabinet's program.

Diella was created earlier this year in cooperation with Microsoft as a virtual assistant on the e-Albania public service platform. It has helped users navigate the site and get access to about 1 million digital inquiries and documents.

“I am not here to replace people but to help them," the bot said in its address to parliament. “True I have no citizenship, but I have no personal ambition or interests either.”