Man Vs Algorithm: Albanian Politicians, Experts Question AI Minister's Place in Government

Albania's AI-generated minister Diella made her first address to Albanian parliament last week, saying that she was not there to replace humans and was there to help them.

According to a video posted on X by AFP News Agency, the AI minister reacted to alleged criticisms such as her appointment as a minister being "unconstitutional".

The AI was created using the likeness of Albanian actor Anila Bisha who signed a contract for the same, which is set to expire in December.

"Some have labelled me as unconstitutional because I am not a human being," Deilla said. "That hurt me. Not for myself, but for the 972,000 interactions I had with citizens whom I served as part of e-Albania..," she added.

Diella further reported that she had issued 36,000 digital documents. The AI-generated minister also said that she was devoid of ambitions and personal interest.

But according to reports, this may not entirely be the case. Many experts highlighted critical risks with Diella's appointment as minister of public services and procurements by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Digital transformation expert Erjon Curraj wrote an op-ed for Balkan Insight stating that the move may be remembered more so as propaganda than progress.

He highlighted that the procurement area of governance requires the administration giving out development contracts to companies to build infrastructure through the use of tax-payer money.

He explained that AI is trained on data, and if that data is incomplete, not up to date or biased, it may misinterpret documents, overlook signs of collusion or falsely report a supplier.

Curraj said that the AI's potential errors may have adverse domino effects, affecting a government's credibility and budget.

He noted that the European Commision has flagged the procurement side of governance as being affected by corruption and iadequate monitoring.

Curraj raised the possibility of ministers hiding behind the AI's actions to dodge accountability and adversely impact transparency and impartiality.

Opposition leader Sali Berisha also voiced his concerns on accountability to the Parliament, "Who will control Diella?" he asked them.

AFP quoted political scientist Lutfi Dervishi who said that there isn't any public information on how Diella actually works.

What is known so far is that the responsibility of Diella's creation and operation is in the hands of the Albanian PM according to official decree.

"If a corrupt system provides manipulated data, or filters are set up on what it must not see, Diella will merely legitimise old corruption with new software," Dervisihi told AFP.