Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Thursday he had appointed the world’s first AI-generated government minister to oversee public tenders, promising its artificial intelligence would make it “corruption-free.”

Presenting his new cabinet at a meeting of his Socialist Party following a big May election victory, Rama introduced the new “member,” named “Diella”—”sun” in Albanian.

“Diella is the first (government) member who is not physically present, but virtually created by artificial intelligence,” Rama said.

Diella will be entrusted with all decisions on public tenders, making them “100% corruption-free and every public fund submitted to the tender procedure will be perfectly transparent,” he added.

Diella was launched in January as an AI-powered virtual assistant—resembling a woman dressed in traditional Albanian costume—to help people use the official e-Albania platform that provides documents and services.

So far, it has helped issue 36,600 digital documents and provided nearly 1,000 services through the platform, according to official figures.

Rama, who secured a fourth term in office in the elections, is due to present his new cabinet to lawmakers in the coming days.

The fight against corruption, particularly in the public administration, is a key criterion in Albania’s bid to join the European Union.

Rama aspires to lead the Balkan nation of 2.8 million people into the political bloc by 2030.

© 2025 AFP

Researchers at National Taiwan University developed a new device that captures energy from vibrations more efficiently. Its self-adjusting mechanism enables resonance with environmental frequencies, resulting in higher power output across a broader operational range.

Every day, the world hums with hidden energy. The floor trembles when a subway passes, bridges quiver as cars roll over them, and even the faint rhythm of footsteps sends tiny vibrations rippling through the ground. Usually, all this motion goes to waste—but what if we could turn it into electricity to power the devices we use every day? That’s the dream of researchers studying “piezoelectric energy harvesters,” tiny machines that sip power from vibrations.

The most common design resembles a diving board: a thin beam that bends back and forth, fitted with a special material that generates electricity when stressed. Simple, yes. Effective, not quite. These designs only work well at very specific vibration frequencies—like a radio that can only tune to one station—and because most of the strain is concentrated at one end, much of the material never reaches its full potential.

At National Taiwan University, a research team led by Prof. Wei-Jiun Su asked a simple question: what if the harvester could adapt itself? Their answer was a stretch-mode design that swaps bending for stretching. A thin PVDF film is pulled evenly like a drumhead so every part contributes to generating electricity.

The real magic, though, comes from a tiny sliding mass. This mass moves on its own, pushed by the tug-of-war between inertia forces and gravity. When the surroundings shake harder, the mass slides outward, lowering the harvester’s preferred frequency. When the shaking eases, gravity pulls it back, raising the frequency. In short, the device tunes itself—like a violin that adjusts its own strings mid-performance.

In lab tests, this self-tuning trick made a big difference. Compared with conventional designs, the new harvester produced nearly twice as much power and worked across almost double the frequency range. In one trial, the output reached nearly 29 volts, a remarkable figure for a device that fits in the palm of your hand.

Just as importantly, it could smoothly shift from low-energy to high-energy states without outside help—proof that self-adjustment works in practice. And this matters, because the real world is complex. Vibrations aren’t neat or predictable; they shift with traffic, weather, or even time of day. A rigid harvester quickly falls out of step, like a dancer who can’t keep tempo. But a self-tuning harvester keeps adapting, staying in rhythm and producing power reliably.

The possibilities are exciting. Imagine wireless sensors in buildings that power themselves for decades, portable electronics that never need charging, or medical implants that quietly run on the body’s own movements. Each step toward self-powered technology brings us closer to a world less dependent on batteries.

As corresponding author Prof. Wei-Jiun Su says, “By allowing the harvester to adapt to its surroundings, the door is opened to more efficient energy harvesting for self-powered devices.”

The study is published in the journal Energy Conversion and Management.

Marks & Spencer chief digital and technology officer Rachel Higham is to leave the retailer, in the wake of a ransomware attack on its core systems from which it is still recovering.

Higham, who had been in post for less than two years, will be replaced by current retail director Sacha Berendji, according to M&S, which said Higham plans to take a career break.

In an internal memo obtained by specialist retail magazine The Grocer, M&S chief exec Stuart Machin said that having steered the team through “a challenging six months” Higham herself had taken the decision to step back.

“Rachel has been a valued part of the leadership team since joining, building a strengthened digital and technology function, playing a key role over recent months, and laying foundations for the future,” Machin wrote.

“Rachel has been a steady hand and calm head at an extraordinary time for the business, and we wish her well for the future.”

The Scattered Spider attack on M&S crippled the retailers’ systems at Easter after IT teams were forced to take emergency action and pull systems offline.

The high street stalwart was forced to contend with gaps on shelves due to problems with its stock systems, and the suspension of various online services such as click-and-collect. Similar attacks befell Co-op and Harrods at the same time, although these are not thought to have been as severe in their impact.

In M&S’ case, although most of the disrupted services are now back up and running, the financial impact will be long lasting, with the retailer previously saying it expects to be out-of-pocket to the tune of at least £300m.