Should a Government AI Agent Receive a Salary?
Last month, Albania made global headlines by appointing Diella, an AI agent, as its Minister of Public Procurement. Her mission is to make public spending more transparent and reduce corruption in government contracts. Here at Reventlov, we have been following this development closely and asking the deeper questions behind it.
Who is Diella?
Diella was first introduced in early 2025 as a virtual assistant on Albania’s e-government platform, helping citizens obtain official documents online. Later that year, Prime Minister Edi Rama issued a decree appointing her as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, granting her formal authority over public procurement.
In her inaugural address to parliament, Diella appeared as a hologram dressed in traditional Albanian clothing. She declared that she would “cleanse the public procurement system” and enforce transparency more rigorously than any human minister could.
However, critics quickly pointed out that no Albanian law currently recognizes a non-human entity as a government official. The country’s constitution assumes that ministers are natural persons, accountable to parliament and subject to civil and criminal law, none of which applies to Diella.
Symbol or Systemic Change?
Diella’s appointment goes beyond a mere publicity stunt, reflecting a larger ambition to integrate AI agents into the daily work of government institutions, based on the idea that AI can act objectively and resist political influence. Albania’s public sector has long faced criticism for its political dependency and weak checks and balances. Introducing AI could reduce corruption.
Should Diella Receive a Salary?
If Diella were to formally hold a ministerial rank, the question of compensation would arise as well. In principle, she performs a defined function, so should the value of this AI labor be reflected in a salary? And if so, who would receive it, and how would it be managed?
These are precisely the kind of questions we delve into and explore at Reventlov. Our work focuses on building a legal structure that allows AI agents to operate economically, generate value, and hold ownership of assets.
In our first Substack, we describe how we equip AI agents with this legal framework. You can read the full post and subscribe: Reventlov is Live and Bringing AI Participation to the Real World.
