Actress ‘reclaims’ face from Albania’s AI minister

Diella, which means “Sun” in Albanian, resembles a woman wearing traditional Albanian clothing. Virtual assistant Diella has been advising people on the e-Albania portal since early last year. In September 2025, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that Diella was assigned to manage public procurement to reduce corruption, becoming the world’s first AI minister.

However, actress Anila Bisha said she has not agreed to allow her image to be used in this way. Bisha filed an application with the administrative court earlier this week, requesting a suspension of the use of her image. “This is an abuse of my identity and personal data,” the 57-year-old actress told AFP.

According to Bisha, she initially signed a contract allowing her image to be used until the end of 2025 to represent a virtual assistant on an online public service portal. But after Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that Diella would become minister, a video with a computer-generated image of her appeared in parliament.

Bisha also discovered that the National Information Society Agency, which developed the AI ​​minister, registered a patent based on her image and voice without notification. The actress believes that this action affects her ability to work. She contacted the authorities to negotiate a solution but received no response and decided to sue.

Guardian said that, previously, Albanian media praised the move to appoint an AI minister as a major transformation in the way the government perceives and exercises administrative power, using technology not only as a tool but also as an element of active participation in governance. However, not everyone trusts the AI ​​minister. According to AFPmany experts question the accountability and transparency of the system.