In this commentary, Toju Duke reviews the recent AI-related events in Albania, focusing on the appointment of DLR, the world’s first AI cabinet minister, created by the National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI) in partnership with Microsoft and OpenAI. The move, intended to showcase AI sovereignty and aid EU accession by tackling corruption, sparked parliamentary backlash. Duke outlines subsequent controversies: actress Alina Bisha sued the government for unauthorized use of her likeness by DLR, and two senior AKSHI officials were placed under house arrest on corruption charges linked to a criminal organization. Drawing lessons, Duke emphasizes that individuals retain ownership rights over their data, that installing an AI agent as a minister does not resolve corruption, and that effective AI solutions should be problem‑specific, such as custom LLMs for detecting falsified information, with continuous monitoring of deployment and outcomes.
Chapters
I'm sure you know the importance of reflection, looking back and lessons learned. So let's do a quick review of recent AI events that happened in Albania. Remember DLR, the world's first AI minister, appointed by Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, in September 2025, which was just last year. In a bid to join the EU, reduce corruption, and claim AI sovereignty, an AI agent was appointed as cabinet minister, built by AKSHI, the National Agency for Information Society, in collaboration with Microsoft and OpenAI. This move wasn't taken lightly by the members of Parliament who threw rubbish at the Prime Minister when he made the announcement. Now we need to understand why Edi Rama decided to take this route towards AI sovereignty. You see, Albania has been trying to join the EU for quite some time now, but need to show their commitment to reducing corrupt practices in the country. Hence the birth of Dayela and her 83 children, AKA personal assistants who were not a birth, by the way. Well, here is the latest update on that. Alina Bisha, the actor that DLR impersonated with her voice and face, has sued the Albanian government for illegally using her identity. And two top leaders from AKSI, the National Agency for Information Society who built DLR, were kept under house arrest for corruption with accusations of links to a criminal organisation that manipulated public contracts. What an irony. So while local Albanians who are against the push to join the EU are probably silently jubilating, there are a few lessons to be learned here. One, people have ownership rights to their data, and companies, governments, and tech providers need to respect that. Two, pointing an AI agent as cabinet minister will not solve corruption issues in any country. Using a custom-made LLM trained to identify falsified information would be more appropriate. And effective AI solutions go beyond AI agents, national LLMs, or company-wide chatbots. They have to be built to address an identified problem and trained to deliver solutions for that problem. While monitoring its deployment and results continuously.
