The Case of Albania's 'AI Minister' and its Ethical Implications
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science and Technology (Artificial Intelligence - AI, Large Language Models - LLMs); Current events of international importance.
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Governance & Polity): Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; Role of civil services in a democracy.
General Studies Paper 3 (S&T): Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; Awareness in the fields of AI.
General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics): Ethics and Human Interface; Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration; Accountability and ethical governance.
Key Highlights from the News
European country Albania appointed the world's first AI Minister, named Diella.
Diella's main responsibility is to manage the country's public procurement process.
The stated goal of this move is to completely eliminate corruption and ensure transparency.
Main Concerns and Criticisms:
Appointing an AI minister violates the country's Constitution, which states that a minister must be a citizen.
A machine cannot take moral responsibility or accountability or ownership for its decisions.
This could lead to the elimination of discussions and deliberations essential for a democracy.
Since humans input data into the AI system, the potential for corruption is not entirely eliminated.
This event has sparked a major global debate about the possibilities and dangers of using Artificial Intelligence in governance.
COMMENTS