Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama believes he has found the secret recipe for bringing his country closer to the European Union faster: Artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Facing a push for reforms to accelerate the country’s entry to the EU, Rama’s government is using AI-powered technology in the hopes of aligning Albanian laws with the EU quicker and more effectively. The move is embodied by an AI-generated avatar named \u2018Diella\u2019, who serves as a “virtual minister” tasked with improving public procurement and eliminating corruption. While the plan has gathered international attention for its audacious nature, it has also raised a host of questions.<\/p>\n
Diella, whose name means \u2018sun\u2019 in Albanian, appears as a woman dressed in traditional Albanian attire and started government life as a chatbot helping Albanians navigate online government services. Rama, who secured a fourth consecutive term in May, argues she can make Albania “a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption\u201d and accelerate its accession to the EU.<\/p>\n
Andreas Schieder, the European Parliament\u2019s rapporteur on Albania, told Euronews the country is quickly progressing on its path to EU membership, including through digitalisation reforms, and could be in a position to close talks by the first half of 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiella is about changing the perception of public administration and public procurement. It sends a strong signal to foreign investors, who are seeing a push for fairer and more accountable processes in Albania,\u201c Schieder told Euronews after returning from Albania on Friday, adding that Diella had been discussed \u201cvery intensely\u201d during his talks on EU accession with Albanian representatives.<\/p>\n
The Albanian government said Diella will be operated with human oversight. And for some, it could be a game-changer in how government bureaucracy is done.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI has been successfully tested by a number of international bodies to make procurement more transparent and test for any irregularities that could lead to corruption,\u201d Andi Hoxhaj, a Balkan expert at King\u2019s College London, told Euronews.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is also about sending a message: Albania is taking corruption very seriously and trying something new. If the old methods aren’t working, it’s time for new ones.” <\/p>\n
Concerns over legitimacy, security and sovereignty<\/p>\n
But a host of concerns over Diella have also emerged, with experts questioning her legitimacy and objectivity. <\/p>\n
\u201cAn algorithm always includes biases,\u201d Clotilde B\u00f4mont, Senior Policy Analyst for cyber and digital technologies at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), told Euronews.<\/p>\n