TIRANA, Albania: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Thursday he had appointed the world’s first AI-generated government minister to oversee public tenders, promising its artificial intelligence would make it “corruption-free.”
Presenting his new cabinet at a meeting of his Socialist Party following a big May election victory, Rama introduced the new “member,” named “Diella” — “sun” in Albanian.
“Diella is the first (government) member who is not physically present, but virtually created by artificial intelligence,” Rama said.
Diella will be entrusted with all decisions on public tenders, making them “100-percent corruption-free and every public fund submitted to the tender procedure will be perfectly transparent,” he added.
Diella was launched in January as an AI-powered virtual assistant — resembling a woman dressed in traditional Albanian costume — to help people use the official e-Albania platform that provides documents and services.
So far, it has helped issue 36,600 digital documents and provided nearly 1,000 services through the platform, according to official figures.
Rama, who secured a fourth term in office in the elections, is due to present his new cabinet to lawmakers in the coming days.
The fight against corruption, particularly in the public administration, is a key criterion in Albania’s bid to join the European Union.
Rama aspires to lead the Balkan nation of 2.8 million people into the political bloc by 2030.
Albania appoints AI-generated minister to avoid corruption
https://arab.news/688uv
Albania appoints AI-generated minister to avoid corruption
- Edi Rama: ‘Diella is the first (government) member who is not physically present, but virtually created by AI’
- Rama: ‘Diella will be entrusted with all decisions on public tenders, making them ‘100-percent corruption-free’
Sweden seizes false-flagged ship with suspected stolen Ukrainian grain
- The Russian embassy in Stockholm said it had been informed by the Swedish coast guard that 10 of the crew were Russian citizens
STOCKHOLM: Police in Sweden have seized a false-flagged cargo ship off its southern coast believed to belong to Russia’s shadow fleet and suspected of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, authorities said Saturday.
The 96-meter (315-foot) Caffa left Casablanca in Morocco on February 24 and was headed for Saint Petersburg, Russia when armed Swedish police boarded it on Friday off the southern town of Trelleborg.
“The vessel is on the Ukraine sanctions list. Information indicates that it has essentially been used to transport grain that is stolen, as we understand it, from Ukraine,” the coast guard’s acting head of operations, Daniel Stenling, told a press conference.
“We have been able to establish that the vessel is sailing under a false flag. She is registered in Guinea, but that registration is in fact false,” he added.
“A majority” of the 11 crew members were Russian, Stenling said.
The Russian embassy in Stockholm said it had been informed by the Swedish coast guard that 10 of the crew were Russian citizens.
“The Russian embassy in Sweden is in contact with the competent Swedish authorities and is ready, if necessary, to provide consular assistance to the Russian nationals among the crew,” it wrote on Telegram.
One crew member was under investigation for violation of the maritime code on seaworthiness and on ship safety, Stenling said, refusing to disclose the suspect’s identity or crew role.
“The investigative measures we have taken so far reinforce our suspicions and our view that there are extensive maritime safety deficiencies on this vessel,” he said.
The Swedish Transport Agency was to inspect the ship and determine whether it was seaworthy and authorized to continue its journey.
- ‘Risk of accidents’ -
Moscow’s “shadow fleet” consists of vessels with opaque ownership used to skirt Western sanctions.
“It’s a problem for us that we are seeing more ships that don’t respect the law of the sea,” Stenling said, noting that “the risk of accidents increases when ships are not certified.”
“We might not even know what kind of crew is on board, what kind of skills they have, what certifications they hold, and they often lack insurance if something were to happen,” he added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Saturday thanked Sweden.
“Collective action against such vessels is gaining momentum. This is a welcome development,” he wrote on X.
“Sanctions work when they are strictly enforced. Together, we must stop the activities of Russia’s shadow fleet to protect Europe’s security and environment.”
