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
As cities adopt more connected infrastructure for traffic lights, utilities, and public services, the potential attack surface for disruptive cyberattacks grows correspondingly. Comprehensive security for these interconnected systems remains inconsistently implemented.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
infrastructure
traffic
systems
haven
solved
prevent
hackers
exploiting
vulnerabilities
smart
society-governance
public
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Advanced surveillance technology developed for legitimate security purposes can end up being sold to and misused by governments to suppress dissent. Preventing this kind of misuse through export controls or corporate accountability remains inconsistently enforced.
society-governance
global-unspecified
surveillance
being
sold
governments
misuse
haven
found
way
prevent
ai-powered
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even with privacy safeguards, AI models can sometimes reproduce specific pieces of sensitive information they encountered during training when prompted the right way. Fully preventing this kind of unintentional data leakage remains an unresolved technical challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
models
sensitive
training
data
haven
solved
prevent
large
language
inadvertently
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
way
technology-computing
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
AI can now generate entirely fake but convincing photos and personas used to build fraudulent romantic or social relationships online for financial exploitation. Detecting and removing these fake profiles quickly enough remains an unresolved platform challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
fake
social
profiles
haven
found
way
prevent
ai-generated
media
being
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
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
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
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
Insurance companies increasingly use AI to assess claims, but there's limited independent, scalable auditing to ensure these systems aren't unfairly denying or delaying valid claims. Building trustworthy oversight for this remains an unresolved regulatory and technical challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
claims
scalable
systems
insurance
don
have
way
verify
treating
customers
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many critical systems, including in banking and government, still run on decades-old code that few current developers understand, and automated modernization tools remain unreliable for anything but simple cases. This leaves critical infrastructure dependent on shrinking expertise.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
systems
code
yet
build
software
automatically
reliably
translate
legacy
modern
society-governance
mathematics-logic
whether
philosophy-ethics
critical
public
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even after an AI model is retired, techniques exist that can sometimes extract fragments of its original training data, posing ongoing privacy risks. Fully preventing this kind of data leakage after decommissioning remains unresolved.
society-governance
global-unspecified
data
model
don
have
way
guarantee
decommissioned
learned
reconstructed
attackers
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As AI-powered search and assistants become primary ways people find information, a small number of companies effectively shape what most people see and believe. Ensuring this influence remains fair and transparent remains a largely unresolved governance issue.
society-governance
global-unspecified
companies
influence
information
haven
solved
prevent
large
having
outsized
over
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As AI-generated faces and voices become more realistic, some biometric security systems can potentially be fooled by convincing synthetic versions of a real person's face or voice. Strengthening these systems against this emerging threat remains an active challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
systems
biometric
security
don
have
reliable
way
detect
ai-cloned
identities
whether
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Techniques that let multiple parties jointly compute something without revealing their private data to each other exist, but they remain too slow and complex for widespread practical adoption. Making this both secure and fast enough remains an active research challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
secure
fast
enough
practical
build
fully
multi-party
computation
systems
everyday
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
technology-computing
possible
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
People increasingly turn to AI chatbots for guidance on legal or financial questions, but these systems can provide plausible-sounding yet incorrect advice with no clear warning of their limitations. Better safeguards around this kind of high-stakes advice remain underdeveloped.
society-governance
global-unspecified
advice
chatbots
legal
financial
haven
found
way
prevent
providing
confidently
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI-generated contracts, court filings, or legal notices can appear authentic enough to deceive people unfamiliar with proper legal formatting, creating new fraud risks. Detecting these fakes reliably remains an emerging unresolved challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
legal
don
have
effective
way
prevent
systems
generating
convincing
fake
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many popular games include purchasable randomized rewards that closely resemble gambling mechanics, and current age protections and regulations remain inconsistent across different countries and platforms. Protecting younger players from this remains an unresolved policy and design challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
mechanics
younger
players
haven
solved
make
video
game
loot
box
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
climate-environment
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cloud storage relies heavily on trusting individual companies to remain operational and reliable long-term, and if a provider fails or shuts down, users can lose access to their data. A truly provider-independent guarantee remains unbuilt.
society-governance
global-unspecified
cloud
storage
guarantee
data
remain
provider
build
systems
will
accessible
technology-computing
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
mathematics-logic
climate-environment
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Automated trading systems can execute manipulative strategies at speeds far beyond human traders, and regulators still struggle to detect this kind of abuse in real time. Closing this detection gap remains an urgent unresolved challenge for financial oversight.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
detect
systems
financial
don
have
reliable
way
being
manipulate
markets
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
society-governance
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
App permission systems exist, but many apps still collect more data than users realize or intend to allow, often through complex, hard-to-navigate settings. True granular control over personal data remains inconsistently implemented across platforms.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
data
users
control
personal
apps
collect
don
have
widely
trusted
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
systems
determine
society-governance