alt Hacker NewsWhich technologies have been 99% "done" for "decades?"
Bicycles? carbon fiber frames, electronic shifting, tubeless tires, disc brakes, aerodynamic research
Screwdrivers? impact drivers, torque-limiting mechanisms, ergonomic handles
Glass? gorilla glass, smart glass, low-e coatings
Tires? run-flats, self-sealing, noise reduction
Hell even social technologies improve!
How is a technology "done?"
Replies
It's done when there is no need to improve it anymore. But you can still want to improve it.
A can opener from 100 years ago will open today's cans just fine. Yes, enthusiasts still make improvements; you can design ones that open cans easier, or ones that are cheaper to make (especially if you're in the business of making can openers).
But the main function (opening cans) has not changed.
Technology is just a lever for humanity. Really would like an AI butler, but I guess that's too hard (?). So many things AI could do to make my life better, but instead the world is supposedly over because it can summarize articles, write passable essays, and generate some amount of source code. In truth we haven't even scratched the surface, there is infinite new work to be done, infinite new businesses, infinite existing and new desires to satisfy.
It's not! But each one of your examples is in a phase of chasing diminishing returns from ever-expanding levels of capital investment.