Extract from a conversation:
I wonder if it [“I need to talk to you.”] is one of the earlier instances of the overall bastardization of “need,” since people have been saying that one for a while. Now the use of “need” as an auxiliary verb has metastasized in really ugly ways. Say “I need to” as a way of slipping out from under your ethical responsibility for what you intend to do. Say “you need to” as a passive aggressive avoidance of asserting your desire or giving a command. Such filthy talk. And typically what’s asserted has little to do with the world of true need and necessity.