Cities may deploy scent systems that automatically adjust collective emotional states. Over time some residents develop tolerance or adverse reactions, creating uneven effects and new forms of environmental inequality. The problem is designing transparent, opt-outable, and medically safe atmospheric interventions that do not become tools of coercion or social control.
scent
managing
public
emitters
alter
health-biology
The problem of lack of clean and safe drinking water continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.
lack
clean
safe
drinking
water
other
When personal memory archives exist solely in distributed cloud systems, sudden or gradual data loss can erase formative experiences without local backups. The challenge is building durable, verifiable, and accessible long-term personal memory infrastructure that survives corporate failure, format obsolescence, and account lapses. Solutions should remain affordable, user-controlled, and recoverable even decades later.
cloud
systems
ensuring
childhood
memories
other
The problem of children going to bed hungry every night continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.
sustainable
children
going
bed
hungry
other
Future technologies may allow external parties to alter or insert content into shared dream environments while people sleep. The problem is establishing consent, ownership, and integrity boundaries for experiences that occur outside waking awareness. Any solution must define measurable harms, protect privacy without eliminating beneficial dream-sharing uses, and function across different neural interface standards.
dream
shared
protecting
spaces
unauthorized
science-space
Astronomy, cultural practices, wildlife, and human sleep may be affected by large satellite fleets. A workable solution must reconcile connectivity goals with brightness limits, orbital design, and international compliance. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
science-space
satellite
preserving
dark
skies
during
expansion
low-income
communities
solution
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
quantum
infrastructure
safe
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving extreme poverty affecting more than 700 million people. Conventional approaches have proven insufficient. The required intervention must integrate community knowledge, data and appropriate technology while remaining affordable, privacy-preserving and operable with minimal external support. Strong solutions will articulate measurable impact metrics, risk mitigation strategies, and a plan for sustained operation by local actors after the pilot phase.
extreme
poverty
affecting
700
million
economics-resources
Autonomous spacecraft may make split-second avoidance decisions using imperfect data and proprietary software. The unresolved problem is assigning responsibility, proving fault, and compensating affected parties across jurisdictions. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
technology-computing
autonomous
spacecraft
liability
collisions
low-income
communities
may
make
split-second
avoidance
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
quantum
infrastructure
science-space
Severe solar storms can disrupt satellites, power grids, navigation, aviation, and communication networks. Future resilience requires better forecasting, hardened systems, coordinated shutdown procedures, and affordable protection for developing countries. Affected communities must have meaningful control over data, revenue, deployment decisions, and the right to refuse harmful applications. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
science-space
protection
space
weather
infrastructure
community
ownership
deployment
severe
solar
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
quantum
safe
without
As more government activity moves online, corruption may shift from visible cash handling to invisible data manipulation, access control, and procurement capture. The challenge is detecting abuse in systems that look efficient on the surface. This becomes particularly difficult in informal settlements, because public institutions must remain fair, resilient, and accountable while adapting to new risks.
society-governance
resilient
systems
informal
settlements
creating
anti-corruption
digital
states
government
activity
public
technology-computing
institutions
across
corruption
Industrial agriculture, pollution, and habitat loss may eliminate microorganisms with future medical and ecological value before they are studied. The challenge is creating ethical, distributed microbial conservation infrastructure. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
health-biology
microbial
future
preserving
diversity
medicine
low-income
communities
industrial
agriculture
pollution
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
infrastructure
quantum
Some future climate interventions may have planetary effects while remaining scientifically and politically contested. The challenge is designing governance for experimentation, consent, liability, and termination before deployment escalates. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.
climate-environment
climate
informal
settlements
regulating
engineering
under
deep
uncertainty
some
future
society-governance
systems
technology-computing
public
across
governance
AI-designed biological molecules may be created faster than their safety, ecological, and clinical properties can be characterized. The open problem is building evaluation pipelines proportionate to capability and deployment risk. The approach must scale before formal institutions, infrastructure, and land-use systems fully catch up with population growth. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
mathematics-logic
asia
india
ai-designed
standards
proteins
rapidly
urbanizing
regions
deployment
approach
biological
technology-computing
society-governance
economics-resources
climate-environment
systems
infrastructure
AI-designed biological molecules may be created faster than their safety, ecological, and clinical properties can be characterized. The open problem is building evaluation pipelines proportionate to capability and deployment risk. Affected communities must have meaningful control over data, revenue, deployment decisions, and the right to refuse harmful applications. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
mathematics-logic
ai-designed
deployment
standards
proteins
community
ownership
biological
molecules
may
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
infrastructure
quantum
science-space
open
South Africa, Africa
AI-designed biological molecules may be created faster than their safety, ecological, and clinical properties can be characterized. The open problem is building evaluation pipelines proportionate to capability and deployment risk. The design must remain functional when standards, trade routes, data access, and diplomatic cooperation are unreliable. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
mathematics-logic
africa
south-africa
standards
ai-designed
proteins
under
geopolitical
fragmentation
deployment
biological
molecules
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
infrastructure
Large-scale fermentation may compete with food, land, and water if it depends on agricultural inputs. Future systems need safe, affordable, low-carbon feedstocks that do not shift environmental burdens to poorer regions. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
climate-environment
feedstocks
biomanufacturing
non-food
low-income
communities
large-scale
fermentation
may
compete
food
technology-computing
economics-resources
society-governance
systems
infrastructure
quantum
safe
Engineered microbes, insects, crops, and gene drives may offer major ecological benefits but could spread beyond intended boundaries. The unresolved problem is developing reversible, monitorable, and internationally governed release frameworks. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
mathematics-logic
release
engineered
safe
environmental
organisms
low-income
communities
microbes
insects
crops
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
quantum
infrastructure
Biological design tools are becoming more accessible while oversight remains fragmented across countries and institutions. The challenge is detecting dangerous activity without suppressing legitimate research or creating an intrusive global surveillance system. The solution must produce useful coordination and accountability while minimizing collection of sensitive personal and behavioral data. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
mathematics-logic
asia
india
surveillance
monitoring
synthetic
biology
risk
mass
while
research
biological
technology-computing
society-governance
climate-environment
economics-resources
systems
without
Biological design tools are becoming more accessible while oversight remains fragmented across countries and institutions. The challenge is detecting dangerous activity without suppressing legitimate research or creating an intrusive global surveillance system. The design must remain functional when standards, trade routes, data access, and diplomatic cooperation are unreliable. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
mathematics-logic
asia
india
monitoring
synthetic
biology
risk
under
geopolitical
fragmentation
design
research
technology-computing
economics-resources
society-governance
climate-environment
systems
infrastructure
Biological design tools are becoming more accessible while oversight remains fragmented across countries and institutions. The challenge is detecting dangerous activity without suppressing legitimate research or creating an intrusive global surveillance system. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
mathematics-logic
monitoring
synthetic
biology
risk
low-income
communities
research
biological
design
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
quantum
infrastructure
science-space
