I agree with this idea that technological determinism means certain things really are inevitable, and individuals merely speed up or slow down this tectonic movement.

On this topic I think it is worth pointing to the work of the wonderful author, Stefan Zweig. He was fascinated by the influence individuals can have on the world and tries to drill down into the very moment, the very instant that changed the course of history (at least for the individual in question's lifetime).

From what I can tell this is the original publication, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decisive_Moments_in_History, though there is a modern version readily available here: https://pushkinpress.com/books/shooting-stars/