What specific modern necessity is addressed by creating highly efficient algorithms for massive datasets?

The requirement to make sense of too much information.

In contemporary, highly developed contexts, the constraints driving innovation have shifted from physical shortages to cognitive burdens. The sheer volume of data generated today creates an overwhelming complexity that functions as a form of modern necessity or pressure. Developing highly efficient algorithms is a direct response to this cognitive constraint—the requirement to process, manage, and extract meaning from enormous datasets. This action is analogous to the ancient craftsman needing a sharper flint for survival; the modern software engineer tackling a memory leak or processing immense information is driven by a critical, immediate need to resolve an operational constraint, even if the stakes appear abstract.