So if you have to give 3 tech but receive 13 in return (some, like you say, very valuable to yourself) - how is that such a bad deal?
I fail to see what you are complaining about besides the randomness factor.
If the choice were left up to you, would you give any but the lowest valued techs?
It is much more fair the way it is.
Not at all. I can think of several situations where I would rather give up higher-RP techs to protect specific things, like techs that give passive bonuses, unlock a trade good, a specific colonization tech (yes, I've had this come up that early before), etc. This would vary between games, so the most valuable techs can't easily be determined. OTOH, you could use selected techs to screw with the AI - Industrial Sectors for everyone, now spend eternity upgrading!
If instead of random techs, the game gave you a list of eligible techs (those that enough other civs haven't researched so sharing them would benefit nearly everyone) it would add a bit of depth to the event. Although, if any changes were to be made to the UP, this would be pretty low on the list, compared to things like having a say on what issue to bring up at the meeting.