You're right, a lot of those problems aren't sexy. Yet, they're all critical problems that must be solved.
That said, some of them are sexy. Voice-to-voice translation, for example, is already being worked on substantially.
Most of those problems, though, seem to me to be more political problems than technological ones. The cost of housing in cities, the failure to help refugees and displaced persons, tools for collective decision-making, and infrastructure in the developing world are not problems that can be solved by throwing technology at them. These are political problems. In technological senses, every single one of these items is known, understood, and holds few mysteries for execution. In every single one of these cases, there are real obstacles that generally cannot be removed by technology.
Maybe someone wants to launch a startup to convince cities to permit housing to be built? Of course, I'm pretty sure that would be a lobbying group or advocacy non-profit... things that already exist and work very differently.
People do very often just grab for the sexiest problem at hand. There are always other problems that could be solved. Yet, it's perhaps possible that the startup model isn't the right tool for every problem
I agree with you, but if we think that many of our most pressing problems are political/governmental at their core, then doesn't that mean tech is a little impotent? - maybe we ought to be more careful about using "change the world" narratives, and maybe we should be encouraging more of our brightest minds to go into politics and government, if that's where the really interesting problems are.
* I am being a little facetious here, but only because I don't think I don't think tech has nothing left to offer in these, more challenging, problems.
It's perhaps less than optimally correct to assume that intelligence is infinitely flexible. The same minds that are brilliant at technology may not always be equally brilliant at politics, policies, and campaigning. It's even perhaps possible that both fields, and many others, have genuinely interesting problems.
I don't think tech has nothing to offer. Just that a lack of tech is not what keeps the political problems unsolved. Be not guided by the beauty of your weapons, they are but tools fit to serve a purpose. That my stovetop cannot comfort the bereaved does not render it impotent - merely unsuitable for that purpose.
Conversely, there's actually nothing "sexy" about a startup for buyer's remorse insurance for fine art. It's unimportant and extremely bourgeoisie. It's not even a particularly big market.
There are real problems to solve!
Pretty much all of us on HN are extremely lucky in a lot of different ways. Solve a problem for some of the seven billion people less lucky than you, and you can achieve a double win. You can (1) build a business with a ton of growth potential and (2) sleep well at night.
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I'm disappointed with YC's startup ideas list. It is potent evidence that the YC community has become too insular--that rich people are spending too much time hanging out with other rich people.
For a deep look on designing cities I recommend reading the book the power broker.
Aaron Swartz' review of the book:
"I cannot possibly say enough good things about this book. Go read it. Right now. Yes, I know it’s long, but trust me, you’ll wish it was longer. I think it may be simply the best nonfiction book."
