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BackHow Lao Gan Ma, China’s iconic chilli brand, got caught in an AI storm
How Lao Gan Ma, China’s iconic chilli brand, got caught in an AI storm
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SCMP Tech2 hours agoBusiness1 min readChina

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

Online rumors claim the iconic Guizhou company replaced hundreds of factory workers with an AI-powered inspection system.

lao gan maartificial intelligenceautomation

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Chinese chilli sauce maker Lao Gan Ma faces online boycott threats and public anxiety after viral rumors claimed the company replaced hundreds of factory workers with an AI inspection system.

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Why It Matters

Lao Gan Ma has operated for three decades as a traditional food manufacturer in Guizhou, known for its chilli sauce jars featuring founder Tao Huabi.

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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 automation on jobs in the world’s second-largest economy.

Speculation mounted on the social media platform Weibo on Monday after claims spread that Lao Gan Ma had reduced its chilli-sorting workforce from more than 600 people to just 48 after installing an AI-powered inspection system.

Open Questions

  • Did Lao Gan Ma actually replace factory workers with AI?
  • What are the official employment figures at the company?

Related Topics

lao gan ma
PeopleTao Huabi
OrganizationsLao Gan Ma
PlacesGuizhouChina
Topicsartificial intelligenceautomationchinatao huabichilli sauce
This article was originally published by SCMP Tech.

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