"On September 11, 2025, Albanian actor Anila Bisha was sitting at home with her family, watching the live presentation of the country's new cabinet by Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania. What followed took her completely by surprise: She saw herself appointed minister not as a flesh-and-blood politician, but as an avatar. "Diella," whom Rama introduced as the world's first virtual minister, had Bisha's face and voice."
"For the government, it was a bold display of technological innovation. For Bisha, an actor with a stage and screen career spanning almost 40 years, it was something else entirely. "I laughed about it with my family at first," she told DW. "I did not understand the consequences that would follow." What was presented as a symbol of digital modernity soon revealed a more complex reality."
Anila Bisha's likeness and voice were used to create 'Diella,' an avatar presented as Albania's virtual minister for artificial intelligence. Bisha had signed a December 2024 contract permitting use of her image and voice for a one-year digital assistant on e-Albania's portal. The cabinet presentation elevated that assistant into a ministerial role without her informed consent for that purpose. The government's move showcased technological innovation while raising unresolved questions about consent, scope of rights, and the legal boundaries of using a performer's likeness in AI-driven public roles. The situation prompted legal action and shifted debate from spectacle to courtroom.
Read at www.dw.com
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