‘Cyberselfish’, a book on Silicon Valley techno-libertarianism, returns in a new edition
Paulina Borsook's 2000 book “Cyberselfish”, a critical look at techno-libertarian influence on Silicon Valley culture, is being republished by Tin House. In an interview with TechCrunch, the author discusses the book's origins and the rise of AI.
American writer Paulina Borsook is releasing a new edition of “Cyberselfish,” a book first published in 2000 that had long been out of print. The publisher is Tin House. The book examines techno-libertarianism, a set of beliefs tied in Silicon Valley, California's technology hub, to strong opposition to government regulation. Interest in it has returned as readers look for an explanation of why the tech industry, in the words of The New York Times, “lost its way.”
How the book came back
Last year, journalist Gil Durán, author of “Nerd Reich,” publicly urged a revival of Borsook's career, saying she had seen things clearly and tried to warn people 25 years ago. Later that autumn, The New York Times reported that the book was finding new fans. Borsook says she noticed used-copy prices creeping up, unexpected social media posts about the book's importance, and inquiries from European academics. The new edition includes an introduction by Durán.
Borsook says that after the original release, nobody was interested in her views on anything, and she has yet to publish a second book.
The author's view
In the TechCrunch interview, she describes the book as closer to a travelogue than a polemic. She characterizes techno-libertarianism as a basket of beliefs that is “violently anti-regulation,” even though, in her view, the tech sector has benefited greatly from government, including research and development funding. Borsook also points to a split between socially conservative and more culturally liberal industry leaders that she says persists today.
She argues that the Netscape IPO brought finance-minded people into Silicon Valley and that the attitude outlasted the dot-com crash. She calls the current AI boom a big Ponzi scheme.
