Wasn't a large part of the complexity introduced by autoconf from how loosely prescribed UNIX systems were in where things were installed and how they were impl

Wasn't a large part of the complexity introduced by autoconf from how loosely prescribed UNIX systems were in where things were installed and how they were implemented? Feels that we are much more homogenous now than we have ever been in the past. Such that it is not that surprising to find a lot of complexity in the past is not as necessary today.