State of the Art

I was curious where the term “state of the art” originated and how it came to be thought of as describing the latest technology.

From https://writersorder.com/state-of-the-art/

According to researchers, the concept for ‘state of the art’ came into being at the beginning of the 20th century. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the phrase dates back to 1910, when Henry Harrison Suplee, an engineering graduate, used ‘state of the art’ in an engineering manual. Back then, it referred to the current level or condition to which some technical art had reached.
In the 20th century, it changed to its modern form, expressing how advanced a particular product is. Now no one exactly knows how this change occurred. However, many believe it was simply (drumrolls) a mistake, while others suggest ‘state of the art’ underwent a process known as folk etymology or popular etymology, which allows words to fit the speakers’ misconceptions leaving behind the real meaning.
By the 1960s, it was set; state of the art means the newest and most advanced technology in a product or activity.