Like, see it and be aware that something was made better and would continue to be used for quite some time?
Are there any recordings of people speculating on advances in technology, or pointing out things had/would change before 1700?
There is an entire school of philosophy dedicated to the study of technology. Aristotle wrote widely on the relationship between technology and nature. Aristotle's doctrine of the four causes of "techne"—material, formal, efficient and final certainly show he was at the very least pondering where technology came from, thereby showing he had some interest in how it is beneficial. (Physics II.3).