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
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for incentive-compatible mechanisms for global public goods financing are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
economics-resources
europe
italy
incentive-compatible
mechanisms
public
goods
financing
development
despite
recognition
its
climate-environment
methods
systems
society-governance
barriers
designs
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Attackers can still forge email headers to make messages appear to come from trusted banks, companies, or government agencies, despite improved authentication protocols. Full adoption and enforcement of stronger email verification standards remains inconsistent.
society-governance
global-unspecified
email
trusted
haven
solved
prevent
large-scale
spoofing
attacks
impersonate
organizations
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
way
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Robocalls and spam calls continue to reach users despite various blocking technologies, partly because scammers can spoof caller information and operate across international boundaries where enforcement is inconsistent. A fully effective, universal solution remains unbuilt.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
spam
blocking
yet
build
universally
reliable
call
works
all
telecom
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Despite improved detection tools, non-consensual intimate images can still spread quickly across platforms before removal, causing lasting harm to victims. Faster, more comprehensive detection and removal systems remain an urgent unmet need.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
systems
non-consensual
intimate
build
fully
effective
automated
detect
remove
imagery
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
haven
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
Video files, especially in high resolution, still require significant storage and bandwidth despite decades of compression research, and further meaningful improvements have become harder to achieve. This constrains streaming quality and cost, especially in areas with limited bandwidth.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
compression
video
yet
build
data
methods
meaningfully
outperform
current
standards
whether
climate-environment
technology-computing
mathematics-logic
open
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Documents with rich formatting, fonts, or embedded content can still look different or break entirely when opened in different software or on different devices. A truly universal, faithful format remains elusive despite decades of digital document use.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
truly
universal
format
documents
software
devices
different
build
file
preserves
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
determine
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many users experience nausea, eye strain, or disorientation after even moderate use of virtual reality headsets, a problem that hasn't been fully solved despite years of hardware improvements. This limits how widely VR can be adopted for work or daily use.
health-biology
global-unspecified
virtual
reality
yet
make
comfortable
enough
people
extended
periods
discomfort
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
technology-computing
solved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Most software vulnerabilities trace back to common coding mistakes that better language design could prevent from the start. Despite decades of research, mainstream programming still makes these mistakes easy to make.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
programming
make
don
have
languages
writing
secure
bug-free
code
default
whether
philosophy-ethics
way
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Bioprinting and stem-cell therapies may not scale fast enough to meet demand. Organ-allocation optimisation and cross-border sharing platforms remain important.
health-biology
global-unspecified
may
future
organ
shortage
crises
persist
despite
advances
regenerative
medicine
climate-environment
technology-computing
food
whether
philosophy-ethics
microbial
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Researchers keep finding creative ways to bypass safety filters built into AI systems, and defenses often lag behind the newest bypass techniques. This cat-and-mouse dynamic remains unresolved despite constant patching.
society-governance
global-unspecified
fully
prevent
models
being
tricked
generating
harmful
content
clever
prompting
whether
philosophy-ethics
systems
mathematics-logic
resolved
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Passwords remain widely used despite being easy to steal or forget, and alternatives like biometrics or hardware keys haven't achieved universal, trusted adoption. A truly seamless and secure replacement remains unbuilt at global scale.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
haven
trusted
found
way
make
password-free
authentication
universally
available
passwords
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
open
South America / Unspecified, South America
Economic shocks and informality push more city dwellers into precarious living, adding pressure on housing and services. Slum-upgrading and urban social-safety-net platforms could mitigate these trends.
economics-resources
south-america
south-america-unspecified
poverty
urban
growing
south
american
cities
despite
rural
remaining
higher
african
global-unspecified
asia
climate-environment
access
open
South America / Unspecified, South America
Women bear disproportionate care burdens, face wage gaps, and are underrepresented in leadership, despite advances in education. Care-economy support systems and women-focused funding platforms can improve autonomy.
economics-resources
south-america
south-america-unspecified
gender
inequality
remains
profound
south
america
women
bear
disproportionate
care
systems
global-unspecified
social-civic-problems
society-governance
education
open
United States, North America
Regulatory and technical bottlenecks—including differing signalling systems and capacity constraints—slow modal shift. Integrated corridor-planning tools and interoperability solutions can boost rail usage.
climate-environment
north-america
united-states
rail
freight
europe
underperforms
road
haulage
despite
climate
goals
regulatory
society-governance
systems
solutions
across
scalable
open
United States, North America
Regulatory and technical bottlenecks—including differing signalling systems and capacity constraints—slow modal shift. Integrated corridor-planning tools and interoperability solutions can boost rail usage.
climate-environment
north-america
united-states
rail
freight
europe
underperforms
road
haulage
despite
climate
goals
variant
society-governance
systems
data
solutions
infrastructure
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Transport and industrial emissions continue to cause health burdens despite progress. Low-cost sensor networks and policy-impact simulators can guide clean-air strategies.
climate-environment
europe
europe-unspecified
air
quality
several
european
urban
regions
remains
below
standards
transport
global-unspecified
african
pollution
access
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Transport and industrial emissions continue to cause health burdens despite progress. Low-cost sensor networks and policy-impact simulators can guide clean-air strategies.
climate-environment
europe
europe-unspecified
air
quality
several
european
urban
regions
remains
below
standards
variant
global-unspecified
african
data
infrastructure
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Patients face administrative and reimbursement barriers when seeking care abroad. Interoperable health-data and insurance coordination tools can ease mobility.
health-biology
europe
europe-unspecified
cross-border
healthcare
access
complex
despite
free
movement
patients
face
global-unspecified
african
whether
remains
africa
rural
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Economic growth has not been inclusive enough, leaving large groups in informal, low-paying work without safety nets. Targeted cash transfers and universal basic social protection floors could reduce extreme poverty.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
growth
millions
live
less
day
despite
decades
economic
has
not
informal
african
settlements
society-governance
work
social