Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4094Total
4094Open
0Solved
9Humans
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Estimates of forest carbon storage vary significantly depending on the measurement method used, making it hard to track progress on climate goals tied to reforestation. More precise, consistent measurement remains an open challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
carbon
accurately
measure
forests
really
storing
losing
real
time
measurement
whether
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
public
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wetlands filter water and protect against flooding, but restoring one once it's been drained or built over is far harder than protecting it in the first place. Better restoration techniques remain limited and expensive.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
have
wetlands
been
don
reliable
way
restore
destroyed
development
filter
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Manufacturing solar panels currently involves energy-intensive processes and some toxic materials, undercutting part of their environmental benefit. A cleaner production process would make solar energy's benefits more complete.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
solar
make
production
haven
found
way
panel
itself
fully
environmentally
mathematics-logic
whether
philosophy-ethics
local
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Non-native plants and animals often outcompete local species once introduced, and by the time damage is noticed, removal is difficult and expensive. Faster detection and response systems remain underdeveloped.
health-biology
global-unspecified
species
faster
stop
invasive
spreading
damaging
ecosystems
respond
non-native
plants
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
prevent
open
United States, North America
Farms produce enormous amounts of leftover plant material that mostly gets burned or discarded rather than turned into usable energy. Affordable, small-scale conversion technology could turn this waste into a valuable resource.
climate-environment
north-america
united-states
technology
waste
energy
don
have
widely
available
convert
agricultural
clean
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
way
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Raising cattle and other livestock produces a significant share of global methane emissions, yet meat remains a major part of diets worldwide. A lower-emission farming method that doesn't require giving up meat entirely remains unsolved.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
livestock
emissions
haven
solved
farm
contributing
heavily
greenhouse
gas
meat
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
way
determine
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Plastic waste in the ocean is well documented, but pinpointing exact sources at a granular level remains difficult, making targeted prevention harder. Better tracking could focus cleanup and policy efforts where they matter most.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
ocean
plastic
yet
track
pollution
accurately
enough
know
exactly
coming
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
waste
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some island nations face the real possibility of becoming uninhabitable within decades due to sea level rise. Cheap, effective coastal protection or relocation planning remains urgently unsolved for these communities.
health-biology
global-unspecified
island
nations
haven
found
affordable
way
protect
low-lying
being
submerged
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
communities
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Coding education often depends on expensive devices, reliable internet, and trained teachers, none of which are guaranteed in poorer school systems. Closing this gap could open technology careers to far more young people.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
coding
haven
found
scalable
way
teach
basic
skills
students
under-resourced
whether
philosophy-ethics
systems
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Faster memory tends to be far more expensive, forcing constant trade-offs in computer design between speed and cost. Solving this trade-off could make faster computing broadly accessible.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
extremely
computer
memory
build
both
fast
cheap
same
time
faster
whether
haven
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
yet
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even advanced AI systems sometimes generate plausible-sounding but incorrect answers, and users often can't tell the difference without checking elsewhere. A dependable way to prevent this remains unsolved.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
way
don
have
foolproof
stop
chatbots
confidently
stating
false
information
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Satellite internet can reach remote areas traditional cables can't, but current pricing puts it out of reach for many of the people who need it most. Bringing the cost down could close a major digital divide.
science-space
global-unspecified
satellite
internet
haven
solved
make
affordable
enough
world
poorest
regions
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
digital
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Personal information is scattered across emails, cloud drives, apps, and devices, with no single reliable way to search across all of it. A unified, private personal search tool remains unbuilt.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
search
personal
information
all
yet
build
tools
let
people
find
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
resolved
determine
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Modern prosthetic limbs can restore some movement, but most still can't let a person genuinely feel what they're touching. Restoring sensory feedback affordably remains a major unsolved bioengineering problem.
health-biology
global-unspecified
restore
don
have
affordable
widely
available
prosthetics
natural
sense
touch
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Hiring tools, loan approval systems, and other automated decisions can unintentionally replicate historical biases present in their training data. Fully eliminating this bias while keeping systems useful remains unresolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
systems
bias
automated
haven
solved
prevent
algorithmic
creeping
decision
hiring
society-governance
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
climate-environment
open
United States, North America
Old software often becomes unusable as operating systems and hardware change around it, forcing costly rewrites or abandonment. Designing for genuine long-term durability is rarely prioritized.
technology-computing
north-america
united-states
software
yet
build
ages
well
remaining
usable
secure
decades
release
systems
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Sending money internationally is often slow, expensive, or restricted depending on where you live, despite living in a supposedly connected digital economy. A truly borderless payment system remains unbuilt.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
digital
payment
don
have
interoperable
systems
work
equally
well
whether
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
resolved
determine
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Data breaches exposing millions of passwords happen with striking regularity, despite widespread awareness of the problem. A more fundamentally secure approach to authentication is still needed.
health-biology
global-unspecified
breaches
haven
found
way
stop
password
happening
regularly
data
exposing
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
prevent
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Despite decades of robotics research, folding laundry or loading a dishwasher remains far harder for robots than tasks like chess or driving. Everyday physical tasks turn out to be a much harder problem than expected.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
robots
build
affordable
capable
doing
basic
household
chores
reliably
harder
technology-computing
whether
yet
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Once deployed, a model could be subtly altered or poisoned without obvious signs, potentially changing its behavior in harmful ways. There's no simple, universal way yet to verify a model is exactly as it was originally trained.
health-biology
global-unspecified
model
way
don
have
reliable
detect
has
been
secretly
tampered
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
