Corrupted AI

[paserbyp]

Albania is breaking all kinds of ground these days. It became one of earliest nations to deploy an AI chatbot, Diella, as a public administration assistant, only to then become the first country with an AI government official when it elevated the chatbot to the role of minister of state for artificial intelligence. The Balkan country isn’t slowing down either — because now, Diella is pregnant.

That’s according to Prime Minister Edi Rama, who announced the happy news in front of the Berlin Global Dialogue over the weekend. As reported by, Diella will soon be sharing her “children” with government officials loyal to Rama’s party, the center-left Partia Socialiste.

“Diella is pregnant and expecting 83 children, one for each member of our parliament and who will serve as assistants to them, who will participate in parliamentary sessions and take notes on everything that happens and who will inform and suggest to the members of parliament regarding their reactions,” Rama announced. “These children will have their mother’s knowledge regarding [European Union] legislation.”

Although the prime minister refers to these entities as “children,” they sound more like something akin to a virtual assistant — a government-sanctioned Siri.

“If you go for coffee and forget to come back to work,” Rama continues, “this child will say what was said when you were not in the room and if your name was mentioned, and if you have to counterattack someone who mentioned you for the wrong reasons.”

Rama is apparently unfazed by protests last month from the right wing opposition party, which hurled trash at his cabinet members during Diella’s “inaugural address” to parliament.

Overall, it’s a bold escalation from the prime minister’s stance just a few months ago, when Rama first came up with the idea of an AI minister to make a point about stamping out “nepotism” and “conflicts of interest” in the nation’s infamously corrupt government.