Detained Albanian mayor gives speech using AI avatar
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Albanian Tirana mayor Erion Veliaj, detained in Durrës since early 2025 on corruption charges, posted a video on his official Instagram account featuring an AI-generated avatar. In the video, he reaffirmed his commitment to free school meals for all children in the city and said, "I can only greet you through artificial intelligence." He retains his mayoral position until the municipal elections in the first half of 2027. Previously, Pakistan's Imran Khan and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro also used AI deepfake avatars to speak.
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Albanian Tirana mayor Erion Veliaj, detained in Durrës since early 2025 on corruption charges, posted a video on his official Instagram account featuring an AI-generated avatar, in which he reaffirmed his commitment to free school meals for all children in the city and said, "I can only greet you through artificial intelligence." He retains his mayoral position until the municipal elections in the first half of 2027. Previously, Pakistan's Imran Khan and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro also used AI deepfake avatars to speak; Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama launched the world's first AI virtual minister Diella in autumn 2025, which later drew criticism over portrait rights disputes.
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