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
Many smart home and industrial devices ship with weak security because manufacturers prioritize low cost over protection, creating easy targets for hackers. Fixing this at scale requires an industry-wide shift that hasn't happened yet.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
devices
haven
found
way
fully
secure
internet
things
cheap
mass-produced
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
make
open
South America / Unspecified, South America
The region has significant renewable potential yet faces financing and regulatory barriers. Project-pipeline and blended-finance platforms could unlock investment.
climate-environment
south-america
south-america-unspecified
energy
transition
opportunities
south
america
large
but
underexploited
region
has
global-unspecified
economics-resources
whether
haven
mathematics-logic
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Rapid decarbonisation efforts raise energy and compliance costs for manufacturers who also face global competition. Industrial decarbonisation toolkits and green-finance matchmaking platforms can help firms adapt.
society-governance
europe
europe-unspecified
industrial
struggles
balance
climate
ambition
competitiveness
variant
emphasises
policy
global-unspecified
african
climate-environment
european
energy
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Polarised media ecosystems and economic grievances fuel support for anti-establishment parties, complicating policymaking. Civic dialogue platforms and trust metrics for institutions could inform responses.
society-governance
europe
europe-unspecified
trust
institutions
populism
political
polarisation
eroding
european
variant
emphasises
policy
public
data
global-unspecified
open
United Kingdom, Europe
Post-Ukraine shock adjustments and the green transition have made energy prices a salient political and economic issue. Demand-response platforms and hedging tools for SMEs can mitigate impacts.
economics-resources
europe
united-kingdom
energy
price
volatility
has
become
major
concern
households
industry
post-ukraine
global-unspecified
climate-environment
society-governance
variant
systems
open
United Kingdom, Europe
Post-Ukraine shock adjustments and the green transition have made energy prices a salient political and economic issue. Demand-response platforms and hedging tools for SMEs can mitigate impacts.
society-governance
europe
united-kingdom
energy
price
volatility
has
become
major
concern
households
industry
variant
global-unspecified
climate-environment
europe-unspecified
european
economics-resources
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Hybrid warfare tactics, including deepfakes and targeted propaganda, erode trust and polarise societies. Detection and provenance tools for media and secure civic-information channels are urgently needed.
society-governance
europe
europe-unspecified
disinformation
foreign
influence
campaigns
undermine
european
public
debate
variant
emphasises
global-unspecified
political
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Digitalisation outpaces security investments, leaving critical infrastructure and small firms vulnerable. Managed security services and shared incident-response platforms could improve resilience.
technology-computing
europe
europe-unspecified
cybersecurity
capacity
european
smes
public
bodies
remains
uneven
variant
emphasises
society-governance
global-unspecified
african
infrastructure
open
Europe / Unspecified, Europe
Key ports like Rotterdam and Hamburg face capacity and digitalisation challenges that raise costs and delays. Port-community systems and real-time logistics dashboards could address bottlenecks.
society-governance
europe
europe-unspecified
logistics
bottlenecks
port
congestion
affect
european
trade
flows
variant
emphasises
systems
real
time
african
economics-resources
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
This relic of the Big Bang has not been directly detected. Novel detectors and cosmological analysis methods are needed.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
lack
precise
characterization
cosmic
neutrino
background
relic
big
bang
has
know
science-space
dark
actually
matter
not
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
open
South & Southeast Asia, Asia
Untreated factory effluent and sewage flow directly into major rivers, harming both ecosystems and communities that depend on them for drinking water. River-cleanup technology paired with stricter enforcement is needed.
climate-environment
asia
south-southeast-asia
rivers
industrial
pollution
has
severely
degraded
like
ganges
citarum
untreated
water
global-unspecified
philosophy-ethics
whether
urban
Rapid expansion of universities has sometimes outpaced faculty quality and research infrastructure investment. Stronger accreditation systems and research-funding reform could improve academic standards.
social-civic-problems
asia
systems
quality
research
higher
education
parts
struggle
assurance
output
society-governance
technology-computing
climate-environment
economics-resources
global-unspecified
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
Rapid fintech growth has outpaced consumer education and fraud-detection infrastructure in several markets. AI-based real-time fraud detection tailored to regional transaction patterns is an urgent need.
social-civic-problems
asia
fraud
digital
payment
rising
mobile
money
adoption
accelerates
rapid
african
global-unspecified
remains
technology-computing
africa
Viral misinformation has fueled real-world violence and health misinformation in several countries with weak media literacy programs. Fact-checking tools integrated directly into popular messaging apps could slow its spread.
social-civic-problems
asia
misinformation
media
messaging
apps
spreads
rapidly
social
viral
has
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
remains
african
access
society-governance
Decades of unregulated manufacturing have left soil unsafe for farming in some areas, requiring costly remediation. Affordable soil-remediation technology and stricter industrial waste regulation are needed.
climate-environment
asia
industrial
soil
pollution
has
severely
contaminated
water
several
rapidly
industrialized
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
affordable
don
urban
open
Southeast Asia, Asia
Weak enforcement capacity has allowed scam operations, sometimes linked to trafficking, to flourish in the region. Coordinated regional cybercrime task forces and stronger digital forensics capacity are urgently needed.
local-regional
asia
southeast-asia
cybercrime
has
regional
originating
parts
southeast
grown
major
global-unspecified
african
remains
africa
digital
illegal
Formal job creation has not kept pace with the large number of young graduates entering the workforce each year. Skills-matching platforms and support for youth entrepreneurship could help absorb this workforce.
economics-resources
asia
youth
unemployment
remains
persistently
high
several
fast-growing
asian
economies
workforce
global-unspecified
africa
technology-computing
countries
rural
Economic growth has disproportionately benefited urban elites, leaving rural and lower-income populations behind. Progressive tax reform and targeted rural investment programs could help redistribute growth benefits.
economics-resources
asia
wealth
inequality
widening
several
rapidly
growing
asian
economies
growth
rural
urban
african
global-unspecified
access
remains
infrastructure
Rapid expansion of fish farming to meet protein demand has led to water pollution and frequent disease die-offs that hurt small farmers. Better aquaculture management training and disease-monitoring tools could improve sustainability.
health-biology
asia
aquaculture
sustainability
disease
freshwater
faces
overcrowding
outbreaks
rapid
expansion
climate-environment
global-unspecified
whether
non
water
mathematics-logic
african