How Much Is a Human Worth? (according to engineers)
Practical Engineering1 HN recommender · recommended in 1 month, 2023–2025
explainer · general · evergreen · 2023–2025 on HN
Practical Engineering explains how engineers and agencies put a dollar value on a human life to weigh cost against safety. It covers the legal and regulatory basis for these calculations.
HN commenters cite it as an interesting look at valuing human life, used in safety and liability discussions.
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3 comments from Hacker News
Seem to me like the prosecution is irrationally scared of something they don't understand. When personal data is leaked, no one gives a shit. I got downvoted to smithereens for commenting on HN that I thought the post about Steve Wozniac being in the hospital was perverted. But if you leak something from a business, then life in prison? People value their life at about $10m. There's a video I found interesting on a YT channel called practical engineering. ▶ this video .
>I don't think you can apply a price to a human life Not only we can, but it also done routinely. For example, see this Practical Engineering video: ▶ this video
"the safety benefits are not worth the costs" is a determination government agencies already make with many things[1]. [1]: ▶ this video