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
Nearly every major hack traces back to a bug that existed long before anyone found it. Catching these flaws before release, rather than after damage is done, remains an unsolved challenge.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
flaws
release
don
have
way
guarantee
software
has
exploitable
security
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI can now produce convincing text, images, and video in seconds, and detection tools are struggling to keep up. Without a reliable way to tell real from fake, public trust in what we see online keeps eroding.
society-governance
global-unspecified
online
real
haven
solved
verify
content
not
ai-generated
scale
now
whether
philosophy-ethics
way
resolved
prevent
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Modern AI models are often accurate but operate like black boxes, even to the people who built them. Without a way to explain their reasoning, it's hard to trust them in medicine, law, or other high-stakes decisions.
health-biology
global-unspecified
explain
don
have
systems
reliably
made
specific
decision
modern
models
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
way
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current searches scan a tiny fraction of the sky and only for a narrow range of signals. Without better tools, we may be missing evidence of other intelligent life simply because we aren't looking in the right way.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
way
don
have
reliable
search
signs
civilizations
meaningful
scale
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Neuroscience can map which brain regions activate during thought, but nobody can explain why that activity produces subjective experience at all. This gap separates our understanding of the brain from any real understanding of the mind.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
brain
don
know
consciousness
arises
physical
matter
understanding
neuroscience
map
whether
resolved
determine
mathematics-logic
haven
have
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
We know roughly when life began, but not the exact chemical steps that turned non-living matter into something that could reproduce. Solving this would also tell us where else in the universe life might arise.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
don
fully
understand
first
living
cells
originated
earth
life
know
whether
resolved
mathematics-logic
haven
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
We can now detect many dangerous asteroids years in advance, but we still lack a proven way to redirect or destroy one heading for Earth. One unlucky strike could cause damage on a civilization-ending scale.
science-space
global-unspecified
earth
haven
figured
out
reliably
protect
large
asteroid
impact
now
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
way
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
According to our best theories, matter and antimatter should have destroyed each other completely after the Big Bang. Yet matter clearly won out, and we still don't know why.
science-space
global-unspecified
matter
explain
exists
all
instead
nothing
according
our
best
theories
know
don
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
open
United States, North America
Thousands of pieces of space junk are already circling the planet, threatening satellites and future missions. Left unresolved, orbit could become too cluttered and risky to safely launch into.
science-space
north-america
united-states
orbit
don
have
affordable
way
remove
dangerous
debris
earth
thousands
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
agreed
open
United States, North America
Even our fastest probes would take tens of thousands of years to reach the nearest star system. Without a breakthrough in propulsion, interstellar travel remains purely theoretical.
science-space
north-america
united-states
reach
haven
built
spacecraft
nearby
stars
human
lifetime
even
our
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some volcanoes give warning signs, but many erupt with little notice, putting nearby populations at serious risk. Better prediction could prevent mass casualties near active volcanoes worldwide.
health-biology
global-unspecified
accurately
forecast
volcanic
eruptions
happen
volcanoes
some
give
warning
signs
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
mathematics-logic
resolved
early
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Gravity should be pulling everything together over time, yet distant galaxies are accelerating away from each other. This mystery, blamed on dark energy, remains one of the biggest open questions in physics.
science-space
global-unspecified
don
understand
universe
expansion
speeding
instead
slowing
down
gravity
pulling
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
know
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Outside Earth's magnetic field, cosmic radiation raises cancer risk and can damage the brain and body over time. This is one of the biggest blockers to sending humans to Mars safely.
science-space
global-unspecified
radiation
haven
found
way
shield
astronauts
long
space
missions
outside
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Gravity describes the large scale universe well, and quantum mechanics describes the tiny scale well, but the two don't fit together mathematically. A unified theory would finally explain what happens inside black holes and at the birth of the universe.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
don
theory
gravity
quantum
mechanics
have
working
unifies
describes
scale
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
know
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Every search so far has come back empty, but our tools for detecting distant life are still crude. Knowing the answer would reshape biology, philosophy, and how we think about our place in the universe.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
life
have
never
proven
whether
exists
anywhere
beyond
earth
our
resolved
know
haven
mathematics-logic
possible
don
Design interfaces, standards, and literacy interventions that prevent generated citations, fabricated experts, and confident falsehoods from being mistaken for evidence.
social-civic-problems
preventing
systems
laundering
false
authority
design
interfaces
standards
literacy
interventions
technology-computing
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
whether
prevent
resolved
Develop practical privacy tools and legal safeguards that reduce surveillance through social graphs, location traces, device identifiers, and communication patterns.
social-civic-problems
asia
hong-kong
protecting
activists
metadata
rather
only
message
content
develop
practical
privacy
global-unspecified
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
technology-computing
open
United States, North America
Create scalable curricula that teach adolescents how to interpret uncertainty, correlation, evidence quality, charts, and causal claims in real-world contexts.
society-governance
north-america
united-states
teaching
statistical
reasoning
misinformation
becomes
entrenched
create
scalable
curricula
teach
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
systems
whether
resolved
Develop diagnostics, certification, modular design, and business models for second-life batteries without creating fire hazards or shifting disposal burdens to poorer regions.
health-biology
batteries
reusing
retired
electric-vehicle
safely
develop
diagnostics
certification
modular
design
climate-environment
systems
haven
global-unspecified
recycling
solved
waste
