“I cried so much”: the actress who became the face of the “AI minister” in Albania demands a million euros

In Albania, Anila Bisha has been a key figure in cinema and theater for decades. But for several months she has been living in the shadow of Diella, the artificial intelligence to whom she lends her face, a role that she claims to have never wanted.

In September, when Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the appointment of an artificial intelligence to the post of Minister of Public Procurement in a communications stunt of which he had the secret, it was the face of the actress that made the front pages of newspapers around the world.

A few days later, his digital double in traditional Albanian costume addresses Parliament, in a video that will be viewed millions of times. Faced with this face, her own, giving a speech she knew nothing about, in a role she had never accepted, Anila Bisha feels dizzy.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw myself giving a speech in Parliament, when I heard my voice say I am a ministerthe 57-year-old actress told AFP. I cried so much. »

Public Services Portal

At the beginning of 2025, Bisha agreed to lend her face and voice to a virtual assistant for E-Albania, a public services portal intended to help citizens navigate the intricacies of the administration.

To create this avatar, she had to stand for hours talking without interruption. Every movement of her mouth and every sound had to be recorded so that the AI ​​chatbot, called Diella (Sun in Albanian), can respond naturally to user requests.

In just a few months on E-Albania, Diella recorded nearly a million interactions and delivered more than 36,000 documents via the platform, a success hailed by the government and users.

Corruption

Enough to lead Edi Rama in September 2025 to announce the appointment of Diella as Minister of Public Procurement, promising public tenders “100% free of corruption”, an endemic problem in Albania.

Since December, the director of the department responsible for AI has been under house arrest for her alleged links with illegal manipulation of public markets; and Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, accused of corruption in a public procurement case, was suspended at the end of 2025.

But the appointment of this virtual minister immediately aroused strong criticism: experts warned against the illusion of an incorruptible AI, jurists questioned the legality of this appointment and the opposition took the matter to the Constitutional Court, worried about who will bear responsibility for the decisions taken by the AI.

“Very serious for me”

Anila Bisha claims to have always been unaware that her image would become that of a minister and to have spent months trying to contact the government. “The use of my image and my voice for political purposes is something very serious for me,” explains the actress, “people who don’t like the Prime Minister hate me and that hurts me so much.”

She claims to have only signed a contract with the Albanian government, which expired on December 31, 2025, for the use of her image as part of the services offered to citizens by E-Albania. Faced with the government’s silence, Anila Bisha no longer believes in an amicable settlement and has taken legal action.

On Monday, a request to suspend the use of his image pending legal action on the merits was rejected by an administrative court. But his lawyer, Me Aranit Roshi, assures that a new complaint will be filed in the coming days, including a request for damages of one million euros for violation of his image rights.

The government responded in a statement that it “welcomes the opportunity to resolve this matter once and for all in court.” Anila Bisha will not hesitate to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, if necessary, she promises.