For most of history, more digits of π meant more patience: bigger polygons, longer sums, years of arithmetic by candlelight. Then came computers, and the record started doubling every few years.
Why keep going?
Not for engineering: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory uses 15 decimals to steer spacecraft, and 37 would give the circumference of the visible universe to the width of a hydrogen atom. Records are a test of hardware and of clever algorithms, and a wonderful way to find bugs. They also give us the digits this site searches.