Albania has once again captured global attention, this time not for traditional political drama but for a bold and controversial digital experiment. In a move that has made headlines worldwide, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that an artificial intelligence entity named Diella would officially join his cabinet as a ‘minister.’ This unprecedented step is being presented as an effort to reduce human discretion in sensitive areas of governance, accelerate decision-making, and signal Albania’s commitment to digital transformation.

On the surface, the idea is undeniably ambitious. Diella represents a new frontier in governance, a striking symbol of the digital age where AI could theoretically assist governments in reducing corruption, increasing efficiency, and standardizing procedures. But beneath the headlines, the move raises profound questions about legality, institutional capacity, and the practical limits of technology in high-stakes decision-making. Ambition, while necessary for innovation, cannot substitute for robust frameworks, governance, and accountability. Without these foundations, Diella risks being more spectacle than solution.

Diella did not emerge overnight as a political icon. Her journey began modestly within e-Albania, the country’s central digital services platform. Launched in 2013 by the National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI), e-Albania was initially a small portal offering a limited set of services. Its expansion gained momentum after 2017 when digitalisation became a priority for the government. By 2022, the administration declared that 95 percent of public services were accessible exclusively online, positioning Albania as a regional leader in digital government.

In her first iteration, Diella functioned as a simple text-based chatbot. Citizens could type questions and receive guidance on accessing services, which lowered barriers for those who found the e-Albania interface confusing. Subsequent versions added voice interaction, a visual avatar in traditional Albanian dress, and a more human-like interface, helping the system process more than 36,000 documents and nearly 1,000 services by mid-2025. Yet, the AI’s contribution was........

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