AI-Based Minister in Albania: Last week, the Albanian government took a historic step, appointing AI-based Minister Diela to the public tenders portfolio. The government claims this visit is a first step towards eradicating corruption, but experts have raised serious technical, political, and upstanding questions.
Promise of a Corruption-Free Albania
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that public tenders will be "100% corruption-free" with Diela's arrival. He stressed, "Diela never sleeps, he doesn't need payments, and he has no personal interests. He has no cousins, who often contribute to self-indulgence in Albanian politics."
However, Albania is still ranked 80 out of 180 countries in Transparency International's Self-indulgence Index. Political leaders have often been accused of disturbances and self-indulgence in giving government contracts. Similar allegations have moreover been widow to the names of former Tirana Mayor and former Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
Is Diela the solution?
Experts say AI is just a tool, not a solution. Digital transformation and cybersecurity expert Erjon Kurraj says, “The efficiency of any AI system depends on the quality of the data and the reliability of the model. If the input data is incomplete or biased, decisions can be wrong and signs of self-indulgence can be missed.”
Diela is likely based on Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, which learn from vast amounts of text data. Computer scientist Jean-Gabriel Gnassia says, “LLMs reflect society and contain biases. To think that machines will eradicate self-indulgence is far from reality.”
Accountability and Control
The Albanian opposition has raised questions in the Constitutional Court well-nigh who will be held subject for Diela's decisions. Berisha asked in parliament, “Who will tenancy Diela?” Gnassia argues that if public decisions are handed over to machines, peccancy is lost and the public is at risk.
In the opinion of experts, while AI can help reduce corruption, this is not a well-constructed solution. It is mandatory to take into worth political, technical, and moral aspects and maintain human control.
