Deep sigh. Sad but true, most of our really top flight inventions have come about from war. Killing people or repairing them to get back on the battlefield.
I think the gamers are already significant. We called them tech weenies back in the day, but presently they are flying the drones and the micro guided missles. Deep sea divers almost don't exist anymore, there are submersibles that can go way deeper, do more, and don't have to waste time on taking care of the human. The US Navy has lit a fighter grade unmanned jet on Aircraft carriers. Fighter pilots will soon be as useful as buggy whips.
So. The inventions go on. Maybe in 1100 years there will be a monument to the guy that figured something important out that didn't have to do with making other people dead. It could happen.
Thanks for the marvelous photographs of a monument under repair. It is good to see a government taking care of old stuff instead of always building new...