The first multiplayer versions basically synchronised with each other and then ran independently, just executing the keyboard input from other players basically. No central server calling the shots. This was hell development-wise, but I think that concept hasn't changed too much actually: you may have a central server that tells your client whether you can really pick up an item from a chest or whether it's already gone, but the local simulation is still local (it's not as if there is an incoming video stream or stream of all entities that have moved; far from it, it's a handful of kilobytes per second). The random engines almost have to be synchronized as I never noticed more data traffic during biter attacks or such.
But it does introduce an element of randomness that isn't present anywhere else in the game. Every other recipe in the game has fixed inputs and outputs with known ratios, and often very nice ratios. Put in two iron plates and get out a gear. Put in one copper plate and get out two copper wires.
The randomness in uranium processing is used to simulate the cascades of centrifuges used for isotope enrichment without having to track the enrichment of every single lump of uranium, and without having to introduce a hundred different types of uranium ore items. Instead you have a 0.7% chance of getting a lump of uranium-235 every time you process some uranium ore; the rest of the time you get uranium-238. 235 is used for fuel, 238 is used for ammo and for further enrichment.
Turn up the gain on a cheap sound card with no mic plugged in, and you've got yourself quantum tunneling noise.
If you've figured out how to make that deterministic, go collect your nobel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber
Loot box mechanics (aka gambling, or randomized reward systems) are what the worst offenders are usually exploiting.