Paulina Borsook's 'Cyberselfish' Reissued Amid Tech Backlash — SkimNews
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- Paulina Borsook wrote 'Cyberselfish' as a cultural travelogue exposing the violent anti-regulation ethos of Silicon Valley’s techno-libertarian subculture, which she argued had benefited disproportionately from government support while rejecting its role.
- Tin House is reissuing 'Cyberselfish' in a new edition with an introduction by Gil Durán, more than two decades after the book went out of print, responding to renewed demand and acclaim.
- Gil Durán declared last year that Borsook had 'seen it all very clearly and tried to warn us 25 years ago,' helping spark renewed attention that led to the book’s rediscovery by European academics and social media advocates.
- The New York Times reported in the fall that 'Cyberselfish' was finding new fans seeking to understand how the tech industry lost its way, contributing to the momentum for its republication.
- Borsook observed that the techno-libertarian mindset — rooted in a 'basket of beliefs' disconnected from historical reality — persisted after the dot-com crash and continued to influence Silicon Valley’s culture and leadership.
Why it matters: The reissue of 'Cyberselfish' reflects a growing reckoning within tech culture, as a generation confronting AI ethics, platform power, and political alignment with figures like Trump finds validation in Borsook’s early critique. Her argument that tech leaders ignore their reliance on public infrastructure gains urgency as policy debates intensify over regulation and accountability.
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