18th-century novels created a new literary form that explored the passions and ordinary lives of individuals. This cultural shift elevated the private sphere, previously considered unimportant, into a subject of value, fascination, and social anxiety.

The right to privacy originated not from a demand for personal space, but as a necessary political compromise to end centuries of religious bloodshed. Granting freedom of conscience in private paved the way for broader personal freedoms.

People use chatbots as confidants for their most private thoughts, from relationship troubles to suicidal ideation. The resulting logs are often more intimate than text messages or camera rolls, creating a new, highly sensitive category of personal data that most users and parents don't think to protect.

Users are sharing highly sensitive information with AI chatbots, similar to how people treated email in its infancy. This data is stored, creating a ticking time bomb for privacy breaches, lawsuits, and scandals, much like the "e-discovery" issues that later plagued email communications.

Major political realignments are not always triggered by specific crimes but by a pervasive 'vibe' of elite entitlement and impunity. Revelations that expose a culture of being above the law can act as a societal 'let them eat cake moment,' sparking a revolutionary shift in public sentiment and policy priorities.

The creator of the 1966 chatbot Eliza, Joseph Weizenbaum, shut down his invention after discovering a major privacy flaw. Users treated the bot like a psychiatrist and shared sensitive information, unaware that Weizenbaum could read all their conversation transcripts. This event foreshadowed modern AI privacy debates by decades.

The ideal of impartial journalism emerged in the Victorian era as a deliberate break from narrative-led reporting. The Times of London’s coverage of the Crimean War, which truthfully exposed military incompetence rather than promoting a heroic narrative, serves as a key historical example of this new, 'scientific' approach.

Before the 17th century, there was little distinction between public and private life. Communities were legally compelled to police their neighbors' morality, and solitude was associated with evil and suspicion, not sanctuary.

Biographer Ron Chernow learned more from John D. Rockefeller's intentionally vague letters than from direct revelations. The methods people use to conceal themselves—like writing as if every letter might be read by a prosecutor—are profoundly revealing of their personality, fears, and mindset.