What incredible timing. I just got off the phone with some friends in Germany who were accusing me in particular and programmers and SV in general of being cold optimizers who leave out basic human needs and can't even make their own surroundings a better place. I think there is at least some truth in their accusations. To me part of the problem is that you can't quantify quality of life readily. We usually just have proxy metrics like life expectancy, child mortality, income etc. If you can't measure it, you can't optimize it. I'm somewhat in agreement but at a loss of actionable thoughts.