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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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Droughts, floods, and shifting seasons are making traditional farming less reliable in many regions. Crops that can handle this unpredictability are essential to keeping global food supply stable.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
crops
don
have
resilient
enough
survive
increasingly
unpredictable
weather
patterns
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
way
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cement production alone accounts for a huge share of global carbon emissions, yet it remains central to nearly all construction. A low-carbon alternative that's just as strong and cheap would be one of climate policy's biggest wins.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
carbon-emissions
cement
carbon
haven
found
affordable
substitute
doesn
release
production
alone
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
way
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Coral bleaching events are becoming more frequent as ocean temperatures rise, and restoration efforts are still small and slow. Without faster recovery methods, many reef ecosystems may not survive this century.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
coral
ocean
rebuild
reefs
fast
enough
keep
pace
warming
bleaching
whether
philosophy-ethics
near
protecting
marine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Hotter, drier conditions combined with decades of fire suppression have left forests primed to burn catastrophically. Managing this risk needs new approaches to land management, not just faster firefighting.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
have
don
way
stop
wildfires
growing
frequent
destructive
each
year
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fish farming was supposed to relieve pressure on wild fisheries, but many farms still rely on wild-caught fish for feed. A truly sustainable seafood system would need to break that dependency entirely.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
fish
seafood
wild
haven
figured
out
farm
collapsing
populations
farming
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
have
prevent
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Concrete and asphalt trap heat, turning cities into dangerous hot zones during extreme weather, especially for people without air conditioning. Redesigning cities to stay cooler is now a matter of public safety, not comfort.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
cities
people
during
heat
cool
enough
protect
increasingly
severe
waves
climate-environment
systems
urban
society-governance
haven
african
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wealthy nations have historically emitted the most greenhouse gases, but poorer nations often suffer the worst climate damage. Without a fair cost-sharing system, climate justice remains mostly a talking point rather than a policy.
society-governance
global-unspecified
climate
nations
have
system
damage
don
fairly
share
cost
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
way
climate-environment
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current recycling methods for batteries often use harsh chemicals or produce hazardous waste of their own. A cleaner recycling process would make the growing battery industry far more sustainable.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
batteries
waste
haven
solved
recycle
electronics
toxic
byproducts
recycling
current
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
management
make
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
By the time illegal logging is discovered, the trees are often already gone and the damage is done. Real-time detection and enforcement could protect forests before, not after, they disappear.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
deforestation
illegal
time
yet
track
stop
happens
real
logging
discovered
philosophy-ethics
whether
way
society-governance
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Turning seawater into drinking water is technically possible but still too energy-intensive and expensive for many water-scarce regions. Cheaper desalination could solve water shortages for millions of people.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
seawater
drinking
don
have
reliable
way
desalinate
cheaply
enough
widespread
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Modern farming often strips soil of nutrients faster than nature can replace them, threatening long-term food production. A farming method that restores rather than depletes soil could secure food supply for generations.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
food
soil
haven
found
way
farm
depleting
grows
farming
modern
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and cleanup efforts remove only a small fraction of it. Without cutting the source and scaling removal, marine ecosystems will keep absorbing the damage.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
plastic
stop
waste
accumulating
oceans
faster
clean
millions
tons
enter
whether
philosophy-ethics
pollution
systems
mathematics-logic
fully
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Direct air capture exists, but it's still far too expensive and energy-intensive to make a dent in global emissions. Making it cheap enough to scale is one of the biggest levers left for slowing climate change.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
climate-change
scale
don
have
affordable
technology
remove
carbon
dioxide
atmosphere
meaningful
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As AI-generated accounts and bots flood social platforms, telling a real person from an automated one is getting harder. Without a trusted verification method, online trust and public discourse both suffer.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
trusted
person
online
real
don
have
widely
way
prove
actually
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Machine translation is fast and often accurate, but it still misses jokes, idioms, and cultural context that change meaning entirely. Real cross-cultural communication needs more than word-for-word accuracy.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
translation
haven
built
technology
fully
preserves
tone
culture
nuance
languages
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
technology-computing
possible
build
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Data gets copied, backed up, and shared across so many servers that a single delete request rarely removes every trace. Real digital privacy requires a technical guarantee that deletion actually means deletion.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
guarantee
data
every
personal
once
deleted
truly
gone
system
touched
society-governance
whether
trust
philosophy-ethics
building
incomplete
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
For decades, computer chips got faster mainly by shrinking transistors, but they're now near the smallest physically possible size. Finding a new way to keep computing power growing is an open engineering problem.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
chips
keep
faster
now
transistors
near
don
have
getting
physical
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
way
agreed
open
United States, North America
Modern software is built from thousands of smaller components, any of which could be secretly tampered with. Without full traceability, a single compromised piece can quietly infect software used by millions.
technology-computing
north-america
united-states
supply-chain
software
haven
solved
make
supply
chains
fully
verifiable
source
user
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even the best robots struggle with uneven terrain, sudden obstacles, or tasks requiring fine motor control that animals handle instinctively. Closing this gap would open up robotics for disaster response, farming, and elder care.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
robots
animals
build
move
adapt
unpredictable
environments
well
even
best
affordable
capable
yet
technology-computing
whether
doing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
When an AI makes a harmful decision, it's often unclear whether the blame falls on the developer, the user, or the company deploying it. Without clear rules, victims of AI mistakes often have no clear path to accountability.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
have
don
legal
framework
assigns
responsibility
systems
cause
harm
often
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
way
know
