Every new tool comes with side effects (some good, some bad). The invention of the hammer also required the invention of the hammer claw for removing nails. The invention of the smart phone ironically killed off actual phone calls. The invention of Facebook meant that we’d not turn over old friends as quickly as we used to (and we’d always have baby and cat pictures whenever we want them).
Well now thanks to this AP story we know that Waze is destroying local shortcuts. This makes absolute sense. If you have an app built to provide the most efficient directions between two points it will naturally make use of the most efficient shortcuts. By definition shortcuts are routes that not everyone takes.
This story is amazing to me in the parallels between the internet and newspapers. An app (the internet) takes off and makes life difficult for local homeowners (for journalists and newspapers) while offering time savings to drivers (offering the news you want to readers). It’s the same story but just different players. The same happened with Uber disrupting local regulators. The same happened with Twitter disrupting breaking news reporting.
Technology always has side effects that we don’t quite predict beforehand because users will always adapt it to fit their needs. This is the best reason that exists to not make your applications too specific to a given purpose – it makes it more difficult for users to find unforeseen utility!