The part about AI that should scare you isn’t robots, it’s those in power using algorithms to separate humanity into profitable, not worth caring about, and could be dangerous.
Before blindly following privacy advice ask yourself, what layer does this impact? Network, browser, account, phone number, device, payment, or behavior?
If you have not checked your resolver path, VPN exit, IPv6 handling, browser exposure, and router behavior, you don't really know if your setup is working.
Here is a 15 minute checklist to audit it fast.
Installing an encrypted messenger is easy compared to convincing an entire group chat to move to it. The social friction is the tax. Every boundary needs an explanation. Every refusal sounds like judgment. Every privacy choice gets translated into you are being paranoid, difficult, or making things weird. That wears people down.