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
Developers often only discover accessibility problems after a product has already launched, since automated tools can't yet catch every meaningful barrier during the build process itself. Building this detection earlier into development workflows remains incomplete.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
yet
build
accessibility
during
development
software
systems
automatically
detect
flag
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Consumer drones have become cheap and widely available, but affordable detection systems for identifying unauthorized or suspicious drone activity in sensitive areas remain limited. Closing this security gap remains an unresolved technical and regulatory challenge.
health-biology
global-unspecified
have
drone
activity
security
areas
don
reliable
low-cost
way
detect
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
When one website's user database is breached, attackers often successfully reuse those same stolen credentials on other unrelated websites where people reused the same password. Preventing this cascade of breaches remains an ongoing security challenge despite widespread password reuse warnings.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
reused
haven
solved
prevent
large-scale
credential
stuffing
attacks
exploit
passwords
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
way
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Translating content for different markets requires more than swapping words, since humor, idioms, and cultural references often need deeper adaptation that automated tools still handle poorly. Achieving this at scale and low cost remains an unresolved technical challenge.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
automated
content
tools
cultural
build
fully
localization
adapt
context
not
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
technology-computing
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Companies sometimes stop providing security patches for older but still commonly used software or devices, leaving users vulnerable without clear warning. Establishing consistent, enforced support timelines remains an unresolved industry practice.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
software
security
don
have
widely
adopted
way
prevent
vendors
silently
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Scammers can deploy AI-driven chat systems that convincingly impersonate real customer service representatives to extract sensitive information from victims. Detecting and shutting down these operations quickly remains an unresolved challenge for platforms and regulators.
society-governance
global-unspecified
systems
customer
service
haven
found
way
prevent
generating
convincing
fake
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Existing assistive navigation tools for blind and visually impaired users remain limited in accuracy and are often too expensive for widespread daily use. A truly reliable, affordable solution remains an unmet accessibility need.
science-space
global-unspecified
affordable
yet
build
effective
technology
help
people
visual
impairments
navigate
whether
philosophy-ethics
health-biology
mathematics-logic
haven
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Building one app that works well across many different operating systems and device types often results in compromises that make it less polished than a dedicated, platform-specific version. Fully closing this quality gap remains an unresolved software engineering tradeoff.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
make
app
results
device
don
have
reliable
way
cross-platform
development
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
mathematics-logic
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI-driven bot accounts can now mimic human behavior and conversation patterns closely enough to evade many detection systems, allowing coordinated manipulation campaigns to operate largely undetected. Keeping detection ahead of this evolving threat remains an ongoing challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
systems
bot
haven
solved
prevent
being
automate
large-scale
social
media
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
way
open
United States, North America
Modern software often relies on long chains of interconnected code packages, and a single broken or malicious update deep in that chain can cascade into failures across countless unrelated projects. Making this system more resilient remains an unresolved structural issue.
technology-computing
north-america
united-states
software
single
broken
projects
build
dependency
management
systems
eliminate
risk
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Scammers can now use AI to generate convincing images of products that don't exist or don't match what's actually shipped, making it harder for shoppers to identify fraudulent listings. Detection tools on marketplaces remain inconsistently effective.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
don
images
have
scalable
way
detect
fake
ai-generated
product
online
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cookie consent banners have become a near-universal nuisance without necessarily giving users meaningful, easy-to-understand control over their data. Redesigning this system to be both genuinely protective and user-friendly remains unresolved.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
cookie
consent
protective
haven
found
way
prevent
website
systems
being
whether
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many apps still handle intermittent internet connectivity poorly, causing data loss or conflicts when switching between offline and online states. Truly seamless offline-first design remains inconsistently implemented across the software industry.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
offline-first
connectivity
yet
build
fully
reliable
applications
sync
seamlessly
once
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Attackers can sometimes convince phone carriers to transfer a victim's number to a new device, bypassing two-factor authentication tied to that number. Carriers have improved verification, but this attack method remains an ongoing security gap.
health-biology
global-unspecified
have
phone
don
reliable
way
prevent
sim-swapping
attacks
let
criminals
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wireless carriers often prioritize dense urban areas for network upgrades because they're more profitable to build out, leaving rural regions with slower, less reliable coverage. Closing this rural connectivity gap remains a persistent infrastructure challenge.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
rural
wireless
areas
haven
solved
make
future
networks
reach
reliably
whether
philosophy-ethics
access
remains
african
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
A huge share of global internet traffic between continents relies on a relatively small number of undersea cables, and damage to just one can disrupt connectivity for entire regions. Building enough redundancy to fully prevent this remains costly and incomplete.
health-biology
global-unspecified
fully
undersea
internet
cables
build
network
infrastructure
prevents
outages
damaged
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
yet
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fraudsters can use AI to generate entirely fake but convincing identities, complete with fabricated financial histories, to open accounts and commit fraud at scale. Detecting these synthetic identities before damage occurs remains a growing, unresolved challenge for financial institutions.
society-governance
global-unspecified
identities
financial
synthetic
commit
fraud
don
have
scalable
way
prevent
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Ensuring software works well with assistive technologies is often treated as a lower priority than testing for basic functionality or security, leading to inconsistent accessibility even in otherwise well-built products. Making accessibility testing equally rigorous by default remains unresolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
testing
accessibility
software
security
haven
found
way
make
standardized
thorough
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Age verification systems designed to protect minors from inappropriate content often require handing over sensitive personal information, creating a tradeoff between child safety and privacy for all users. A method that achieves both effectively remains unresolved.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
age
users
privacy
yet
build
technology
reliably
verifies
online
compromising
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
haven
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Scammers increasingly use AI to generate convincing fake job postings and interview processes designed to steal personal information or money from desperate job seekers. Platforms are still catching up to detect and remove these scams effectively.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
job
fake
scams
seekers
don
have
reliable
way
prevent
ai-generated
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
