Albania has appointed an AI-powered chatbot named Diella as its new Minister of Corruption Prevention, marking a bold and unprecedented move in government innovation. The chatbot, whose name means “Sun” in Albanian, has been a virtual presence in the country’s digital government since January, initially serving as a digital assistant on e-Albania, the national platform for accessing public services. Now, Prime Minister Edi Rama has elevated Diella to a cabinet-level role, positioning it as a key figure in the nation’s fight against corruption. Diella is built on OpenAI’s large language model and runs on Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure. While it began as a tool to help citizens navigate government systems, it is now being tasked with a far more ambitious mission: overseeing public procurement and ensuring transparency in government contracting. According to Rama, Diella is “the first cabinet member who is not physically present, but has been virtually created by AI,” and will work toward creating a system where public tenders are “100% free of corruption.” Under the new system, Diella will review all private sector proposals for government contracts, assessing them based on merit and compliance. The AI will determine which bids are awarded, with Rama stating it will open opportunities to “talents here from all over the world” while reducing the influence of bias, favoritism, and administrative rigidity. The goal is to eliminate human interference in the procurement process, which has long been a vulnerability in Albania’s public sector. Corruption in government contracts has been a persistent challenge for Albania, a country that has been seeking European Union membership since 2009. The EU has consistently urged reforms, citing systemic corruption as a major barrier to accession. In recent years, Albania has taken steps to address the issue, including removing judges and prosecutors linked to organized crime, and implementing new legal frameworks to strengthen oversight. While the appointment of an AI minister is symbolic and groundbreaking, it also raises important questions. AI systems are not inherently objective—they reflect the data they are trained on and can inherit or amplify existing biases. Their effectiveness depends heavily on the quality of inputs and the transparency of their decision-making processes. There is research suggesting AI can aid in fraud detection, procurement integrity, and anti-money laundering efforts, but only if designed and deployed with accountability and oversight. Ultimately, the success of Diella will depend not just on its technical capabilities, but on the integrity of the system it operates within. As power tends to corrupt, the real test may not be whether the AI can resist temptation—but whether the humans who design, monitor, and govern it can uphold the principles of fairness and transparency.