How Lao Gan Ma, China’s iconic chilli brand, got caught in an AI storm

South China Morning Post - Oct 28, 2026

For three decades, Lao Gan Ma’s glass jars, bearing the stern portrait of founder Tao Huabi, have been a fixture on Chinese dinner tables and a symbol of traditional food manufacturing. This week, however, the iconic chilli sauce has become an unlikely focus of public anxiety over artificial intelligence. Online rumours that the Guizhou-based company had replaced hundreds of factory workers with AI went viral, prompting boycott threats and highlighting growing public unease over the impact of...

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