Albania names its AI assistant a cabinet "minister" for public tenders. Experts ask how it works.

From the archive. First announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama, September 2025. Where it stands now: Still running, as of October 2026, ATA, Oct. 8, 2026. Why I saved this: An AI assistant was named a cabinet "minister" for public procurement on a promise of tenders "100% free of corruption," with no explanation of how. The lesson for me is that the title arrived before any evidence the system works.

Previously

In January 2025, Albania's National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI) upgraded Diella, the AI assistant on its e-Albania services portal, to take voice requests. It's built on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service. Every usage figure came from the government (Part 1).

TIRANA, September 2025 — Albania's prime minister has made Diella a member of his cabinet, in charge of public procurement. Here's what changed since Part 1 (January 2025), what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of September 2025)

Role: cabinet "minister" for public procurement. (The Guardian)
Promised result: tenders "100% free of corruption," Rama says. (The Guardian)
Who's accountable: Rama, under a decree. (France 24/AFP)
Albania's corruption ranking: 80th of 180 on Transparency International's index. (France 24/AFP)
Cost: Not disclosed.
Tenders handled so far: Not disclosed.

The announcement

On Sept. 11, Rama presented his fourth consecutive government at the ruling Socialist Party's conference in Tirana. He called Diella "the first cabinet member who is not physically present, but has been virtually created by AI."

Public procurement is how governments buy goods and services from private companies, usually through competitive tenders. Rama said deciding tender winners would move from ministries to AI in a "step-by-step" process. Diella would examine every tender and assess each on its merits, he said. The Guardian reported that tenders have long been a source of corruption scandals in Albania.

The Guardian said Diella had been helping users of e-Albania, through which about 95% of citizen services can be reached digitally.

The pitch

"Diella never sleeps, she doesn't need to be paid, she has no personal interests, she has no cousins, because cousins are a big issue in Albania," Rama said, according to AFP.

AFP noted that corruption in government contracts is a major obstacle to Albania's bid to join the European Union. The former mayor of Tirana is in custody, suspected of corruption over the awarding of government contracts, AFP reported. It also said it is unclear whether the appointment will meet EU standards.

The pushback

Experts AFP spoke to weren't convinced. "Like any AI system, she depends entirely on the quality and consistency of the data and the reliability of the models behind her," said Erjon Curraj, a digital transformation and cybersecurity expert. Flawed data could lead it to "wrongly flag a supplier, or miss signs of collusion," he said.

Computer scientist Jean-Gabriel Ganascia said language models "reflect society; they have biases." He warned that if decisions are entrusted to a machine, "there is no longer accountability." Political scientist Lutfi Dervishi said: "So far, there is no information about how Diella actually works."

The opposition appealed to the Constitutional Court over who would be accountable. "Who will control Diella?" former prime minister Sali Berisha asked in parliament.

A decree published Sept. 18 then stated that Rama "also holds responsibility for the creation and operation of the virtual Ministry of Artificial Intelligence Diella."

Diella's face belongs to Albanian actress Anila Bisha, AFP reported, under an image contract that expires in December.

What's changed

In January, Diella answered citizens' questions about services. Now the government says she'll help decide who wins public contracts. That's a much bigger job. Nothing published so far explains what data she'll use, how her decisions can be checked or appealed, or what the system costs.

What went wrong

No technical detail. The government hasn't described how Diella would assess tenders.
Accountability came after the fact. The decree naming Rama responsible came a week after the announcement.
Big promise, no measure. "100% free of corruption" has no stated way to check it.
What we don't know yet: whether any tender decisions will actually move to Diella, on what timeline, and whether the court lets the appointment stand.

Our follow-up question for the prime minister's office

Which tenders will Diella assess first, and can a company that loses a bid see and challenge her reasoning?

Sources

Jon Henley, The Guardian, “Albania puts AI-created 'minister' in charge of public procurement,” Sept. 11, 2025. theguardian.com
AFP, via France 24, “Experts question Albania's AI-generated minister,” Sept. 22, 2025. france24.com
ATA, “Constitutional Court rejects DP's "Diella" request,” Oct. 8, 2026. en.ata.gov.al
Earlier in this series: Part 1. /case/albania-diella-voice-assistant

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder