We Analyzed 47,000 Chatgpt Conversations. Here's What People Use It For
Postedabout 2 months agoActiveabout 2 months ago
washingtonpost.comTechstory
calmmixed
Debate
30/100
ChatgptData PrivacyAI Usage
Key topics
Chatgpt
Data Privacy
AI Usage
The Washington Post analyzed 47,000 ChatGPT conversations, revealing diverse user queries, while sparking discussion on data privacy and the insights gained from such unfiltered human interactions.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Light discussionFirst comment
31m
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0-1h
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2
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Nov 13, 2025 at 8:14 PM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Nov 13, 2025 at 8:45 PM EST
31m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
3 comments in 0-1h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Nov 13, 2025 at 10:37 PM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 45922758Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 6:04:28 AM
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> A random sample of 500 conversations in The Post’s corpus was classified by topic using human review, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.36 percent. A sample of 2,000 conversations, including the initial 500, was classified with AI using methodologies described by OpenAI in its Affective Use and How People Use ChatGPT reports, using gpt-4o and gpt-5, respectively.
If they were on the archive they must have been shared publicly by the user right?
For the first time, we have a public, raw, unfiltered log of what people actually think about and worry about—not the curated, performative versions they post on social media.
The article's list (from "hair removal" to "paracetamol overdose" to "analyze my boyfriend") says it all. It's a mirror of our mundane anxieties, our deep fears, and our loneliness, all in one place.
This is less a story about AI and more a story about us.
Fighting the New York Times' invasion of user privacy
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45900370
Judge Orders OpenAI to Give Lawyers 20M Private Chats – 'Anonymization'
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45919357