PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Albania introduced what it called the world’s first artificial intelligence minister last year. Turns out she wasn’t entirely artificial — at least not her face and voice. Albanian actor Anila Bisha says those belong to her — and she never imagined the government would use her image so prominently.
Now Bisha, a popular film and theater actor in Albania, is demanding her face and voice be stripped from the so-called virtual minister named Diella.
Citing a violation of her personal data, Bisha filed a formal request through an administrative court in Albania this week demanding the government immediately stop using her voice and image for Diella.
“This is the first legal move to prevent the abuse of Anila’s image,” her lawyer Aranit Roshi said.
The Albanian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Albania drew global attention last year when Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the creation of what he described as the world’s first artificial intelligence minister, aimed at ensuring that all public procurement tenders are handled 100% corruption-free.
Diella is usually depicted in traditional Albanian national dress and is known for her punchy comebacks when prompted by government officials.
Bisha acknowledged she had signed a contract agreeing that her voice and image can be used for the government's online platform e-Albania, which provides a wide range of public services in the country. But she said she was never told of any plans to use them for an AI minister.
“It was surprising when I heard the prime minister declare it. I asked how this could happen without my knowledge, without anyone asking me if I wanted my image to be used or not,” Bisha told The Associated Press on Thursday.
She said she feels her image is now used as a political statement.
It is not the first time that voices used in artificial intelligence platforms have caused a stir.
In 2024, OpenAI pulled one of its ChatGPT voices, Sky, after actor Scarlett Johansson said the voice sounded “eerily similar” to her own. OpenAI said the voice used for Sky was not that of Johansson.
Bisha said she had tried to contact the government multiple times since the AI minister became part of the Albanian Cabinet last September. She said she decided to begin legal proceedings after failing to receive a response requesting a meeting to discuss the issue.
Bisha filed the temporary injunction with the administrative court demanding the government immediately cease using her image for Diella. Her representatives plan to file a formal lawsuit for damages and compensation.
“One cannot take away one’s identity and do with it whatever they want,” she said.
FILE - Albanian experts work at the National Agency for Information Society as an artificial intelligence "minister" Diella, whose name means "Sun" in Albanian, is seen on the screens in Tirana, Albania, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlasov Sulaj, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics.
Views of Trump's handling of immigration — which fell over the course of his first year — remained steady over the past month, with about 4 in 10 saying they approve of the president's approach. But the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also found that the Republican Party's advantage on Trump's signature political issue has shrunk since October.
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults trust Republicans to do a better job handling immigration, while a similar share say the same of Democrats. An additional 3 in 10, roughly, don't think either party would do a better job handling the issue, and about 1 in 10 say both parties would handle it equally well.
The Republican president's core supporters remain overwhelmingly supportive of Trump's immigration tactics. But there are signs that more independents think he's going too far.
“I am glad that immigrants aren’t just flooding across the border, but what he’s doing now in our cities, pitting the military against our people, these are gestapo tactics,” said independent Brenda Shaw, a 65-year-old human resources manager from South Haven, Michigan. “They’re shooting U.S. citizens in the face and in the back."
The new polling comes as the nation watches the human impact of Trump's crackdown in Minneapolis, where thousands of heavily armed masked agents have descended upon the city to find and remove immigrants in the country illegally.
There have also been numerous violent clashes with protesters, including two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents in recent weeks. About 6 in 10 Americans believe that Trump has “gone too far” when using federal law enforcement at public protests in U.S. cities, the poll found.
While about 9 in 10 Democrats and about 7 in 10 independents say Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into U.S. cities and using federal law enforcement at public protests, only about one-quarter of Republicans agree.
According to the new survey, about half of Republicans say that Trump’s actions have been “about right,” while about one-quarter of Republicans say he hasn’t gone far enough. Their support for the president hasn't wavered despite the chaos in Minneapolis.
Teviss Crawford, a 20-year-old student from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said he's pleased with Trump's leadership on immigration, although he wishes the president could find a way to deport more immigrants who are in the country illegally.
“I don’t think the deportations have been enough, to be honest. I think it’s much too lax,” he said of Trump's crackdown. “If you crossed into our country illegally, it’s just not right. You’re taking things away from people who were born here."
Crawford added that Trump "should be focusing on violent criminals, but the violent criminals are probably harder to find.”
Despite their strong support for Trump, Republicans are increasingly alone in supporting Trump on his immigration enforcement tactics.
Trump’s approval on immigration appears to have fallen among independents since last spring, from 37% in March 2025 to 23% in the new poll. There is greater variability in surveying small groups, like independents, which creates more uncertainty about the magnitude of changes. About 6 in 10 independents now say Trump has “gone too far” in deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, an apparent increase from 46% in an AP-NORC poll in April.
Most U.S. adults, including independents, have an unfavorable view of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly referred to as ICE. Overall, only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of the agency, the AP-NORC poll found.
There is an large partisan gap, with independents much closer to Democrats than Republicans. Only about 1 in 10 Democrats and roughly 2 in 10 independents have a favorable view of ICE, compared to about 7 in 10 Republicans.
“Having the border shut, that’s OK. But what Trump is doing with ICE and Homeland Security? You don’t go yanking people out of cars. You don’t go shooting people,” said independent Rick Kinnett, a 60-year-old Navy veteran from Crawfordsville, Indiana.
“I spent eight years in the military. This is not what I signed up for,” he said. “This is not what we’re supposed to do. This is not constitutional.”
Trump’s approval on immigration has not moved since January despite a month of immigration-related turmoil.
About 38% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of immigration more broadly, in line with an January AP-NORC poll conducted just after the death of Renee Good, the first U.S. citizen in Minnesota killed by federal agents.
The president's overall approval rating has declined slightly since the beginning of his second term and remains low.
Overall, 36% of U.S. adults say they approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency. His approval ratings on the economy and foreign policy are similar to his overall approval and functionally unchanged from January.
Historically, such numbers would push members of a president's party to distance themselves from him — especially heading into a midterm election season. However, Trump's allies in Washington and in state capitals across the nation remain overwhelmingly united behind him, reflecting consistently strong support from Republicans in the polls.
But Trump's immigration approach seems to be a particularly sore spot for independents. While he appears to have slid with independents on immigration, Trump's approval on the economy — the other signature issue where he's recently been criticized for failing to deliver on campaign promises — is similar to where it was last spring.
And the narrowing of Republicans' advantage on immigration is a warning sign for Trump's party. In October, 39% of U.S. adults said they trusted the Republicans to better handle immigration, while 26% said that about the Democrats, giving the GOP a 13-point edge. In the new poll, the difference between the parties is only 4 points.
“What he’s doing with ICE is the worst thing right now. I would say the economy is the second worst thing,” said Shaw, the human resources manager from Michigan. “I’m getting ready to retire and I’m wondering how I’m going to make it.”
“But I’m blessed,” she added. “I don't have to hide in the basement because my skin is brown.”
The AP-NORC poll of 1,156 adults was conducted Feb. 5-8 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
People participate in an anti-ICE protest outside of the Governors Residence, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
FILE - Observers film while federal agents conduct immigration enforcement operations Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy, File)
