Which specific abstract pressure, rather than material scarcity, drives innovation in highly developed economies?

Managing complexity or optimizing finite resources like time and attention.

In economies where fundamental material needs like food, shelter, and basic tools are generally met, the nature of the 'necessity' that spurs innovation shifts from tangible scarcity to abstract challenges. Modern pressure points revolve around dealing with massive increases in data volume, mitigating the consequences of industrialization on the environment, and the efficient allocation of inherently finite cognitive resources like an individual's time and attention span. For instance, the creation of highly efficient algorithms designed to process massive datasets is a direct response to the necessity imposed by overwhelming complexity, demanding new ways to process and synthesize knowledge rather than requiring a new physical implement.