I think the "taste" described here actually can be formulated as a measurable quantity, just one that can't be accurately measured in practice. According to James Shore's 2006 essay "Quality With a Name" [0], "good design" amounts to nothing more or less than minimising the expected engineering time needed to create a good enough product over the space of changes that are likely to be needed during its lifetime (I'm paraphrasing slightly). Realising this was a revelation to me. I would argue that OP's "taste" is Shore's "good design".
This conclusion may be unwelcome here, since it implies that AI can acquire "taste".
This conclusion may be unwelcome here, since it implies that AI can acquire "taste".
[0]: https://www.jamesshore.com/Articles/Quality-With-a-Name.html