Albania’s first ‘AI minister’ may soon have to go ‘faceless’

Albania’s Minister of State for Digital Intelligence could soon lose its face, literally. Diella is the world’s first virtual official.

It was launched in September 2025 by Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, who had first said in August last year that he was mulling an AI minister or even prime minister.

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Diella was launched to tackle corruption in public procurement. It acquired the new role after first serving as a chatbot on the e-Albania government services portal.

Diella was given the face and voice of actor Anila Bisha. However, the contract with Bisha was only till December 31, 2025.

Now, the actor is reported to have filed a case against the Council of Ministers, a private company part of the project and AKSHI, the National Agency of Information Society.

Bisha’s argument is that the permission to use her likeness for the project was till the expiry of the contract. But the government has continued to use her face and voice beyond the end of the contract term. She has also contended that the agreement to use her likeness was only for the e-Albania platform.

In the documents filed with the court, Bisha has demanded that the use of her image and voice should be immediately stopped till the disposal of the case.

The actor had earlier claimed that she had given permission to use her likeness only for a nominal amount.

POLITICO reported the Albanian government spokesperson, Manjola Hasa, as saying: “Albania is a free democratic country where, as in every other country with no censorship, people are free to think and act through legal pathways against the government. In our view, this lawsuit is nonsense, but we welcome the opportunity to solve it once and for all in a court of law.”

We will wait to see if the world’s first virtual official manages to retain her face.