"Giving Birth to 83 Children With My Face? Disgusted"... Why an Actress Filed a $1.7 Million Lawsuit

Portrait Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Albanian Government
Chatbot 'Dijla' Trained Using Her Face and Voice
“Consent Was for Chatbot Only... Did Not Agree to AI Minister Appointment”

The Albanian government, which created 'Dijla', the world's first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Minister, is facing a portrait rights infringement lawsuit filed by a local actor, with damages claimed at 1 million euros (approximately 1.7 billion won).

On February 27 (local time), AFP introduced the story of Albanian actress Anila Bisha, 57, who filed a lawsuit against Dijla, the world's first AI Minister. With a 40-year career, Bisha signed a contract with the government in December 2024, permitting the use of her image and voice for one year. Her face and voice were subsequently used for the avatar of 'Dijla', a virtual assistant developed for Albania’s online government portal 'e-Albania'.

Actor Anila Bisha filed a lawsuit against the Albanian government for portrait rights infringement. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Bisha told AFP that, in order for Dijla to respond naturally to user requests, every mouth movement and sound needed to be recorded. This required her to speak for hours on end without rest, enduring strenuous work. The problem began when the Albanian government appointed Dijla as the world’s first AI Minister in September last year. At that time, the Minister Dijla avatar continued to use Bisha's face and voice without her permission.

Bisha claims that her contract only covered the use of her image for e-Albania, and that the contract had already expired in December last year. She stated, “It is a very serious issue that my image and voice are being used for political purposes,” and expressed her opposition to the appointment of Dijla as Minister.

Nevertheless, the government proceeded with the appointment of Dijla. In October last year, the Dijla Minister avatar even announced that she was “pregnant” and would “give birth to 83 children,” matching the number of parliamentary members. Bisha confessed, “I felt disgusted,” adding, “It pains me that people who dislike the Prime Minister now also hate me.”

Dijla of Albania, the world's first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Minister

Earlier this month, Bisha filed for a court injunction against the Albanian government, demanding the removal of her voice and image from Dijla, but the Administrative Court dismissed her request on the 23rd.

Bisha’s attorney stated that they would file a main lawsuit, including a claim for 1 million euros in damages, within a few days. A spokesperson for the Albanian government issued a statement calling the lawsuit “absurd” but added, “We look forward to resolving this matter fully in court.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.