To Combat Corruption, Albania Installs Fully Artificial Intelligent Finance Cabinet Minister

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In an effort to combat corruption, Albania is the first nation to install an artificial intelligence (AI) program as a cabinet minister.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said his goal is to make his Albania "a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption" and remove government bias from the process of awarding government contracts.

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Here is more from the Guardian:

A digital assistant that helps people navigate government services online has become the first “virtually created” AI cabinet minister and put in charge of public procurement in an attempt to cut down on corruption, the Albanian prime minister has said.

Diella, which means Sun in Albanian, has been advising users on the state’s e-Albania portal since January, helping them through voice commands with the full range of bureaucratic tasks they need to perform in order to access about 95% of citizen services digitally.

The move comes after years of corruption and scandal that have upended the Albanian government. In 2023, former Environment Minister Lefter Koka was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison on charges of corruption and money laundering. He was also barred from holding public office for five years. Koka was accused of accepting a €3.7 million ($4.1 million) for an incinerator contract in the Albanian city of Fier. Several others were charged in relation to that case, and an audit estimated the corrupt deals would cost taxpayers €350 million over 30 years.

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Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj was arrested back in February on charges of corruption that allegedly netted him €1.1 million by giving public money to businesses in exchange for a share of profits.

Albanian media applauded the move, saying it is a "major transformation in the way the Albanian government conceives and exercises administrative power, introducing technology not only as a tool, but also as an active participant in governance." 

Others have concerns about the use of such technology, with one Facebook user predicting, "In Albania, even Diella will be corrupted." This also raises questions about duly elected governments and the future of technology in politics.

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