The interview was conducted by Ula Rutkowska (Senior Researcher, Apolitical) and edited by Christina Obolenskaya (MSc in International History, LSE and Communications Intern, Apolitical). Mirlinda Karçanaj was named on Apolitical’s Government AI 100 2025.

Albania has made remarkable strides in digital transformation, with 95% of public services now available online through the e-Albania portal. This shift has improved accessibility, efficiency, and transparency in government services. But what made this transformation possible, and what challenges had to be overcome?

In this interview, Mirlinda Karçanaj, Director General of the National Agency for Information Society, discusses the key factors behind Albania’s digital progress, the role of AI in modernising public administration, and the challenges of integrating new technologies at scale. She explains how AI-powered solutions—such as virtual assistants and automated procurement—are reshaping service delivery while ensuring security, inclusivity, and trust. Looking ahead, she outlines Albania’s ambitions for AI adoption across key sectors, from healthcare to agriculture, and reflects on the lessons other nations can take from Albania’s experience.

Q: Albania has achieved remarkable progress in digital transformation with 95% of services now available online through the e-Albania portal. What were the key factors that contributed to this success and what challenges did you face along the way?

More than a decade ago, the Albanian government embarked on an ambitious journey to digitally transform public services. Our vision was bold yet clear: to modernise service delivery, enhance transparency, and rebuild citizens' trust in public institutions. This vision became a reality through the development and expansion of the e-Albania portal, which now serves as a single access point for 95% of all public services.

When we began in 2013, Albania offered just 14 electronic services to fewer than 50,000 users. Today, it provides 1,247 electronic services to 3.2 million registered citizens and businesses, accessible 24/7. This extraordinary progress not only highlights technological advancements but also underscores a steadfast commitment to governance reform and the delivery of tangible benefits to our people. At the core of this transformation lies strong political leadership, exemplified by the prime minister, who has championed digitalisation since his tenure as mayor of Tirana more than 20 years ago. His unwavering support for transparency, cost efficiency, and improved service delivery has been instrumental in driving this momentum across all levels of government.

Q: The e-Albania virtual assistant has handled over 800,000 queries. How has AI enhanced citizen engagement and improved the efficiency of public service delivery?

It's now over 1 million queries, and we are at the cusp of launching version 2.0 featuring real-time interaction with a humanlike avatar. Initially launched in December 2023 with the support of Microsoft, this innovative platform has already provided citizens with fast, reliable answers. Looking ahead, version 3.0, set to go live soon, will integrate secure authentication, allowing us to deliver services directly through the system.

This will revolutionise public service delivery, moving beyond mere information sharing to real-time actionable interactions. Managing this scale of queries would have been an almost impossible challenge if routed through routine emails or help desk staff. AI has not only made real-time precise responses possible but also significantly boosted efficiency while freeing up valuable human resources. Before this transformation, handling a million queries would have been a logistical nightmare, requiring extensive staff just to keep up with questions and replies. AI-driven solutions are reshaping public administration, enabling 24/7 timely assistance for every single citizen and business.

Our ambition is very clear: to position Albania as a leader in digital governance. By powering AI solutions, we are creating a public administration that is more agile, citizen-focused, and fully equipped to address the challenges of the 21st century. Most importantly, we are improving the quality of life for every Albanian by ensuring that assistance is not just accessible, but immediate and effective. This is the future of governance where technology empowers citizens and makes government more responsive, efficient, and transparent at the same time.

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Mirlinda Karçanaj speaking with Ula Rutkowska as part of Apolitical's Government AI 100 2025 series.

Q: How do you approach integrating AI into public services while ensuring accessibility, inclusivity, and trust among citizens? One of the greatest challenges with emerging technologies like AI is that innovation often outpaces regulatory frameworks. To responsibly integrate AI into public services, it's crucial to develop legal and regulatory frameworks that align with international standards. This requires striking a delicate balance, addressing complex issues such as privacy and ethical use while ensuring that frameworks do not stifle innovation. In Albania, we've taken proactive steps to tackle these challenges. Last year, through a Council of Ministers decision, we adopted a comprehensive methodology and set of technical standards for the development and use of AI, particularly within public sector institutions.

This framework draws on global best practices established by leading organisations, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the OECD, the European Union, and NATO. By aligning with these standards, we ensure that AI applications in Albania are secure, ethical, and effective while also fostering their growth and adoption. This decision is part of a broader initiative. We are in the final stages of developing Albania's first national strategy for artificial intelligence, created in collaboration with international consultants, EU experts, and local specialists. The strategy is designed to shape an innovative, responsible, and inclusive AI ecosystem with the final goal of fully aligning with the EU AI Act once it is implemented.

Equally important to our efforts is building trust and ensuring accessibility. Our priority is to create tools that are inclusive and user-friendly. This includes designing features like accessible interfaces that cater to individuals with disabilities or limited digital skills, ensuring that no one is left behind in this digital transformation. Our vision is clear: to make tools that empower every citizen, enhance trust in government, and elevate the quality of public services for all.

Q: What would you say are the biggest challenges in scaling AI adoption across government and how can they be addressed to ensure long-term success?

One of the biggest barriers, to tell the truth, is the resistance to change by fear of job displacement and fear of new technologies. Employees may worry about their roles while institutions face the status quo from long-established workflows. Overcoming this requires clear communication, upskilling, and fostering a culture of innovation. Technical agencies like ours must engage stakeholders, address concerns, and provide support to build confidence in AI's potential.

Another critical challenge is the need for regulatory frameworks that keep pace with emerging technologies. As I said before, AI evolves rapidly, often outpacing existing legal and policy frameworks. This creates a challenging environment where there is a dilemma between fostering innovation and ensuring ethical use. Developing such frameworks takes time, especially when aligning with international standards. However, clear and forward-thinking policies are crucial to building trust and ensuring responsible AI implementation. Budget constraints also pose a significant challenge. Governments often struggle to allocate the financial resources needed for investments in technology, especially when the outcomes may not be immediately visible.

Demonstrating the long-term value of AI solutions through pilots, case studies, and early success stories can help justify and drive these investments further. From an operational point of view, legacy systems also pose a significant challenge. Many government IT infrastructures are not designed for seamless integration with modern technologies, creating challenges in data sharing, interoperability, and optimisation. Addressing this requires upgrades and reengineering of processes. One of the key challenges we face is also the shortage of technical expertise in the public sector.

Governments, including ours in Albania, often compete with the private sector to attract and retain skilled professionals. Closing this gap requires not only offering competitive wage opportunities but also investing in training programs to develop the right expertise within the public sector. This is very important in smaller economies like ours where the talent pool is very limited. In such cases, strategic collaboration with international partners becomes essential. Their expertise and insights from global best practices play a very important role in driving real and lasting transformation.

Q: Thinking forward, how do you envision the future of AI in Albania's public sector? And what milestones would you like to see achieved in the next five years?

I envision a future where AI becomes the cornerstone in Albania's public service delivery, transforming government interactions into proactive, efficient, and citizen-centric services. Over the next five years, we aim to fully integrate AI across key sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, taxation, and public administration, driving transformative change. A particularly noteworthy achievement has been the integration of AI into the EU accession process, aligning national legislation with EU standards. It's a time-intensive task. We have approximately 4,000 EU acts still needed to be transposed into Albanian legislation.

This process has traditionally taken up to seven years in other countries, requiring extensive manpower and resources. To overcome this challenge, we sought an innovative solution. After a year of collaboration with OpenAI and Microsoft, we have integrated AI into our internal EU integration system. This groundbreaking system automates tasks such as translation of legislation, identifying overlaps with existing laws, and automatically drafting concordance tables. As a result, Albania is on track to achieve full alignment with EU directives in just two years, which is a monumental leap forward.

By 2026, in partnership with the EU and World Bank, we will launch an AI-powered procurement platform. This platform will automate procurement processes using AI to draft terms of reference, estimate costs, and generate initial evaluation reports, thereby increasing transparency and reducing human errors. While AI will streamline and enhance efficiency, human oversight will remain central, with detailed audit trails for any changes made to generated outputs. This initiative will foster fair competition and ensure equal access for businesses within and beyond Albania.

In the field of taxation, we are finalising, with the support of Microsoft, an AI model that will analyse real-time electronic invoices and custom declarations to detect anomalies and combat tax evasion and financial crime. This model will automate routine tasks, allowing staff to focus on more complex cases. In healthcare, we are aiming to develop an AI-powered radiology system with EU funding set to launch by 2027. The system will assist doctors in detecting diseases through early image analysis, personalising treatment, and predicting disease progression, improving patient outcomes and saving lives.

In agriculture, with the support of Oracle and the Tony Blair Institute, we will pilot AI and IoT solutions later this year. These technologies will optimise land use, monitor crop health, and provide data-driven predictions on weather impacts and yields, empowering farmers and agriculture experts. These tools will drive productivity and resilience across the sector. Collaboration with Oracle will also extend to embedding AI into education, enabling personalised learning and early intervention for students, as well as enhancing care management and public health initiatives.

Additionally, Oracle's tools will play a pivotal role in financial intelligence. We remain committed to strengthening Albania's national AI frameworks in alignment with the latest EU AI Act, ensuring that public services are ethical, transparent, and accountable. Lastly, I must emphasise that without robust cybersecurity measures, none of these initiatives would be secure or sustainable. At the National Agency of Information Society, we have established a security operations centre powered by state-of-the-art AI and machine learning technologies.

The centre monitors the government cyberspace 24/7, responding automatically to over 60% of daily incidents. With more than 95% of public services online only, Albania's digital infrastructure is a prime target for cyber threats. However, through the implementation of zero-trust principles and a defence-in-depth strategy, both powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, we have mitigated threats from very sophisticated nation-state-sponsored actors. The challenges Albania has faced over the past two years in defending against advanced cyber attacks have sharpened our expertise and positioned us as a leader in the region in both AI adoption and cybersecurity.

__Q: Building on that, what advice would you give to other nations that are only beginning their AI journey? __

To achieve transformative progress in digital transformation and AI integration, I offer the following recommendations based on lessons learned and practical experiences. First, start with a clear vision and defined outcomes. The foundation of a successful initiative is a shared vision. Align all stakeholders, public institutions, private sector partners, and civil society around well-defined goals. Leadership also plays a critical role in this process.

When political leaders actively support an initiative, they not only spark confidence, but they also help secure financial and institutional commitment, which is very important. Second, we have to invest in workforce development and infrastructure. A robust technical foundation and a skilled workforce are non-negotiable. We have to remember that success is not just about developing cutting-edge technologies. It's about building a workforce capable of driving and sustaining the transformation.

Third, we have to engage citizens and institutions early and meaningfully. Digital transformation must be inclusive. Engage citizens and institutions in every step of the process. Open communication, active listening, and addressing all stakeholder needs ensure that the solutions developed are practical, user-centred, and widely adopted. This approach builds trust and ownership, which is vital for long-term success. We have to learn from others' experiences.

Collaborating with countries and organisations that are further along in their digital transformation journey can provide valuable insights. By studying their successes, challenges, and failures, we can anticipate potential obstacles and tailor proven strategies to every country's unique context.

Balancing innovation with responsible governance is key to achieving impactful and sustainable outcomes. Lastly, Albania's example of a balanced approach has been instrumental in achieving remarkable progress in digital transformation. By balancing innovation with transparency, sustainability, and citizen-centred governance, we have delivered meaningful impacts while laying a strong foundation for future growth.