This week the Pittsburgh Review of Books will be publishing an experiment in collective translation featuring a French-language original literary text, its translation as rendered by students in Carnegie Mellon University Teaching Professor Sébastien Dubreil’s course “L’apprenant comme locuteur/acteur” or “The Learner as Speaker/Social Actor.” Part 4 is below.
Asma Mhalla – Cyberpunk: le nouveau système totalitaire, “Treize petits exercices pour l’esprit libre”
Introduction to Asma Mhalla and her book
By Sébastien Dubreil
Dr. Asma Mhalla holds a doctorate in Political Science from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, France’s most prestigious social science school, boasting a broad diversity of research programs, centers, and laboratories. Now a researcher at the LAP (Laboratoire d’Anthropologie Politique), Asma Mhalla focuses on the intersection of the spheres of influence of big tech and political power and how it shapes our relationship to democracy. In her first book, Technopolitique : comment la technologie fait de nous des soldats (“Techopolitics: how technology turns us into soldiers” — Éditions du Seuil, 2024), she examines issues of governance over Big Tech companies and what she calls their “dual technologies” (i.e., with both civilian and military usage), calling into question the legitimacy of the political power these companies wield in the absence of a clear democratic mandate, which, she argues, poses a threat to global governance and the survival of democracy. In her second book, Cyberpunk: le nouveau système totalitaire (“Cyberpunk: the new totalitarian system” — Éditions du Seuil 2025), she argues that technology is creating a new form of totalitarianism, a “techno-fascism,” where power is wielded through algorithms, data, and the alliance between tech giants and political figures. Asma Mhalla describes this as a “cognitive empire” that programs individuals rather than governing them, moving beyond traditional 20th-century totalitarianism to a more subtle, pervasive control that redefines democracy and freedom. The book ends with a series of thirteen “exercises” each of us can do to retain some sanity.
Original text in French
Treize petits exercices pour l’esprit libre
Manuel de survie cognitive
Domptez votre topologie intérieure. Parce que la guerre se joue d’abord dans les recoins de l’âme, au détour des plis de l’esprit, par petites touches quotidiennes d’hygiène cognitive, actes de micro-souveraineté.
1 – Langage. Ne doutez pas du sens des mots même lorsque leur définition sera devenue une arme culturelle et idéologique pour détruire vos repères. Ne prenez jamais l’énergie noire pour de l’énergie blanche.
2 – Distance. Ne cédez pas à la culture du vide des réseaux sociaux, mettez-vous à la juste distance pour protéger vos failles psychologiques. Vous avez un pouvoir, celui de choisir la qualité et la quantité des contenus auxquels vous vous exposez. Prenez soin de votre attention, denrée précieuse. Établissez votre hygiène cognitive selon vos propres règles. Éduquez vos algorithmes. Contrôlez avec ruse votre servitude.
3 – Philosophie. Arrêtez-vous. Réfléchissez, tournez doucement autour de votre objet de questionnement, écrivez, discutez, partez, doutez, revenez… Nul besoin d’avoir une décennie d’études académiques derrière soi pour avoir le droit de penser ou réagir à ce qui vous révolte ou vous questionne. Lisez. Soyez des philosophes !
4 – Parrêsia. Dire est un acte de résistance premier et solitaire contre le silence de la majorité. La parrêsia était dans l’Antiquité une pratique démocratique : une parole de vérité qui exige une transformation de soi. Ne vous habituez pas à faire semblant de ne pas voir ou de comprendre. Mesurez vos risques. Si vous vous taisez, au moins pensez.
5 – Non. Réapprenez doucement à dire non, à refuser. Méfiez-vous des ficelles de la communication dite positive et des anesthésies du développement personnel qui, sous prétexte d’une « reconnexion à soi », vous en éloignent.
6 – Sabotages minuscules. Pour celles et ceux que cela concerne, perturbez négligemment les infimes rouages du régime hostile. Obéissez aux ordres mais ni en temps ni en heure, oubliez par hasard d’exécuter certaines tâches, soyez moins performants ou, à l’inverse, sur-investis dans d’interminables réunions sans décisions, multipliez la paperasse cosmétique, gagnez en épaisseur, en lenteur. Lisez comme des millions de gens avant vous le Simple Sabotage Field Manual. Minuscule grain de sable dans la mécanique de l’hyperpouvoir, jouissez du court instant de résistance qu’il vous reste avant d’être remplacés par des machines plus obéissantes que vous.
7 – Boycott & Fraternité. Affaiblissez les sources de la puissance financière du régime hostile en renonçant à votre docilité hyper-consumériste. Le métacapitalisme ne peut se détruire que de l’intérieur, vous êtes sa faille. Ne dénoncez pas vos frères et sœurs de combat qui commettront les actes de résistance contre les symboles de l’hyperpouvoir. À défaut de les aider, promettez votre protection aux courageux.
8 – White Hack. Hackeurs, hackeuses de tous les pays, rejoignez le mouvement de la révolte, unissez-vous ! Citoyens, participez aux mouvements de mobilisation en ligne sur les réseaux sociaux alternatifs. En réseau, vous êtes légion.
9 – Patrie. Aimez assez votre patrie (ou votre pays, si vous vous défiez d’un patriotisme instrumentalisé à d’autre fins) pour ne pas permettre à une clique de cinglés de casser ce que vos ancêtres ont bâti, les luttes qu’ils ont menées, les libertés qu’ils ont conquises. Restez fidèles à la mémoire et à l’Histoire.
10 – Livres. Lisez dix manuels qui vous réarmeront. Voici les miens: George Orwell – 1984 (1949); William Gibson – Neuromancien (1984); Michel Foucault – Surveiller et punir (1975); Gilles Deleuze – Post-scriptum sur les sociétés de contrôle (1990); Jean Baudrillard – Simulacres et simulation (1981); Hannah Arendt – Le Système totalitaire (1951); Albert Camus – L’Homme révolté (1951); Stefan Zweig – Le Monde d’hier (1943); Henry David Thoreau – La Désobéissance civile (1849): OSS – Simple Sabotage Field Manual (1944).
11 – Rire. Grain de sable dans les rouages de la folie, il brise un mécanisme fondamental des régimes psychotiques: la peur. Le rire met à distance un hyperréel qui ne s’énonce qu’au premier degré, stéréotypé, machinique. Il est une lucidité.
12 – Corps. Si le virtuel est la norme, alors résistez par le réel, par les corps, la sensualité, les amours, les amitiés, les rencontres, les liens, les balades, le théâtre, le cinéma, les cafés, le toucher, les vagabondages, l’imaginaire. Faites l’amour dans les trois sens du terme, charnel, symbolique et politique. Fabriquez de l’espoir, de l’humanité, de la liberté.
13 – Silence. Refusez le matraquage de l’esprit. Censure par saturation, par overdose de bruit, état d’hypnose pour imposer le pire. Rappelez-vous ces mots de Stefan Zweig dans Le Monde d’hier: « Il devient impossible d’échanger avec quiconque une parole raisonnable. […] Il ne restait dès lors qu’une chose à faire: se replier sur soi-même et se taire aussi longtemps que durerait la fièvre et le délire des autres. » taisez-vous, repliez-vous, déployez-vous.
Collective Translation by Irene Fidone, Leyla Gore, and Catherine Seluzhytskaya
Thirteen short exercises to cultivate a free mind.
A Guide to Cognitive Survival
Master your inner topology. Because war is first waged in the far corners of the soul, around the creases of the spirit, through small daily acts of cognitive well-being, acts of micro-sovereignty.
1 – Language. Do not doubt the meaning of words, unless their definition becomes a cultural and ideological weapon for destroying your values. Never mistake dark energy for light.
2 – Distance. Do not yield to the empty culture of social media. Distance yourself to shield your psychological flaws. You have power – that of choosing the quality and quantity of the content you expose yourself to. Guard your attention, a precious commodity. Develop your cognitive well-being according to your own rules. Educate your algorithms. Cunningly control your servitude.
3 – Philosophy. Stop. Reflect. Gently circle the object of your inquiry; write, discuss, walk away, doubt, return… There is no need for a decade of academic studies under your belt in order to have the right to think or react to what outrages or puzzles you. Read. Be a philosopher!
4 – Parrhesia. To speak is the primary and solitary act of resistance against the silence of the majority. In antiquity, parrhesia was a democratic practice: an expression of truth that demands a transformation of the self. Do not get used to pretending not to see or understand. Weigh your risks. If you must remain silent, at least think.
5 – No. Slowly relearn to say no, to refuse. Be wary of the tricks of so-called “positive” communication and the numbing effects of self-help trends that, under the guise of “self reconnection,” actually distance you from yourself.
6 – Small Acts of Sabotage. To whom this may concern, casually disrupt the tiny cogs of the hostile regime. Obey orders, but not on time: “accidentally” forget to complete certain tasks; perform poorly or, conversely, over-invest your time in endless meetings that yield no decisions; multiply frivolous paperwork; win through sluggishness and inefficiency. Like millions of people before you, read the Simple Sabotage Field Manual. A tiny grain of sand in the engine of hyperpower, enjoy the brief moment of resistance you have left before being replaced by machines more obedient than you.
7 – Boycott & Solidarity. Weaken the sources of the hostile regime’s financial power by renouncing your hyper-consumerist docility. Metacapitalism can only be destroyed from within: you are its weakness. Do not rat out your brothers and sisters in arms who commit acts of resistance against the symbols of hyperpower. If you cannot help them, at least promise your protection to the brave.
8 – White Hack. Hackers of all countries, join the revolution, unite! Citizens, mobilize online through alternative social media platforms. Together, online, you are legion.
9 – Homeland. Love your homeland (or your country, if you distrust patriotism that is exploited for other ends) enough so as not to allow a pack of lunatics to destroy what your ancestors have built, the struggles they overcame, the freedoms they won. Remain loyal to memory and History.
10 – Books. Read ten manuals to rearm yourself. Here are mine: George Orwell – 1984 (1949); William Gibson – Neuromancer (1984); Michael Foucault – Discipline and Punish (1975); Gilles Deleuze – Postscript on the Societies of Control (1990); Jean Baudrillard – Simulacra and Simulation (1981); Hannah Arendt – The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951); Albert Camus – The Rebel (1951); Stefan Zweig – The World of Yesterday (1943); Henry David Thoreau – On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (1849); OSS – Simple Sabotage Field Manual (1944).
11 – Laugh. A grain of sand in the gears of madness, it breaks a fundamental mechanism of irrational regimes: fear. Laughter keeps at bay the hyperreality that articulates itself only in literal, stereotypical, and mechanical ways. It is a form of lucidity.
12 – Body. If the virtual is the norm, then resist through the real – through bodies, sensuality, love, friendship, encounters, connections, walks, theater, cinema, cafés, touch, wandering, and the imagination. Make love in the three senses of the term: carnal, symbolic, and political. Create hope, humanity, liberty.
13 – Silence. Reject the bludgeoning of the spirit. Censorship through saturation, through an overdose of noise —a state of hypnosis used to impose the worst. Recall the words of Stefan Zweig in The World of Yesterday: “It became impossible to have a reasonable conversation with anyone. […] There was only one thing left to do: withdraw into oneself and remain silent for as long as the fever and delirium of others lasted.” Be silent, withdraw, then spread your wings.
Essay by Irene Fidone, Leyla Gore, and Catherine Seluzhytskaya
Asma Mhalla’s Cyberpunk: Le Nouveau Système Totalitaire (tr. Cyberpunk: The New Totalitarian System) describes how individuals can resist in small ways. Mhalla makes strong points using a writing style that is poetic, dense, and metaphorical — characteristics that we aimed to preserve in our translation. However, it was challenging to keep the original spirit of the sentences while also ensuring their meanings remained clear to readers. For instance, we struggled with choosing the correct punctuation: a colon or em dash often fit the English translation better than a comma from the original French, but this substitution sacrificed part of the poetic writing style. Beyond punctuation, we valued keeping the translation close to the original text through preserving word connotation. However, sometimes we had to make significant word choices that influenced meaning. Some French words had multiple potential translations to English, so we sometimes differed in the way we chose to interpret the meaning of the word using surrounding context. In these cases, we discussed our individual interpretations of the text and came to an agreement on Mhalla’s intent in order to arrive at a final translation of a certain sentence or block of text. We tried to choose the word with the best connotation, which was often the most forceful or strong connotation due to the way Cyberpunk was written. For example, we decided to use the expression “rat out” when translating “dénoncer” (when other words like “report” could have been used). Moreover, there were also some idiomatic expressions in English (like experience “under your belt”) that captured the spirit of what Mhalla was trying to say very well, but were not literally used in her writing. In cases where we were unsure of a word or phrase’s intended meaning, we consulted our professor — for a French-speaker’s view — to see how he interpreted a specific word to best understand the use of the French language in the specific context.
These choices reveal our conception of the translator’s role: not as a neutral conduit, but as an active mediator who must constantly decide when to respect the opacity of the source text and when to clarify for new readers. Adjusting punctuation, selecting more forceful verbs, or occasionally inserting a small connective like “at least” are all interventions that shape how English readers experience Mhalla’s arguments, even as we strive to remain faithful to her tone and intent.
Our work also showed how translation is a form of intercultural mediation. We continually asked whether a feature was a deliberate stylistic choice by Mhalla or a habit of French syntax that might confuse Anglophone readers. When we opted for English idioms or slightly more explicit phrasing, we were not just “transferring” language but negotiating between French political and rhetorical traditions and an English-speaking audience. The critical discussions we had – among ourselves and with our professor – were therefore not only about words, but about how best to carry Mhalla’s ideas, urgency, and cultural context across languages.
