Would carriers have developed without the First World War?

Would aircraft carriers have developed without the First World War?

Yes. Aircraft interfered with guns and occupied needed space aboard ordinary warships, so navies were already moving toward dedicated aviation ships.

Britain, the United States, Italy, and Japan were encountering the same difficulty when they tried to operate aircraft from existing warships. Aircraft occupied space needed for guns and restricted movement aboard ship. Dedicated aviation vessels offered a practical solution to a problem already apparent before the war. In this counterfactual assessment, aircraft carriers would have developed even without the First World War.