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
States and institutions may need registries of deployed AI models, their data sources, risk levels, and accountability owners. The challenge is building disclosure rules that support safety without exposing legitimate security or privacy risks. This becomes particularly difficult under climate migration pressure, because public institutions must remain fair, resilient, and accountable while adapting to new risks.
society-governance
asia
philippines
registries
under
climate
migration
pressure
governance
public-interest
model
institutions
risks
public
climate-environment
systems
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
Predictive policing can reinforce historical bias even when built from apparently neutral data. The open problem is designing standards that make public safety tools testable, reviewable, and defeasible when they cause harm. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.
society-governance
asia
bangladesh
predictive
policing
informal
settlements
independent
audits
government
harm
reinforce
historical
systems
public
technology-computing
across
climate-environment
Transport systems may be increasingly optimized by private algorithms that control routing, pricing, access, and safety. The unresolved problem is ensuring these systems improve mobility for everyone rather than only for users who can pay most. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.
technology-computing
asia
bangladesh
mobility
informal
settlements
systems
public-interest
rules
autonomous
vehicles
platforms
transport
society-governance
climate-environment
public
across
governance
The bottleneck is not only parts supply but identification, dimensions, safety, and liability. Open component ontologies, machine-vision matching, and verified refurbishment networks could create new revenue for local technicians. The opportunity is intentionally human-scale: a cooperative, clinic, workshop, school, or municipal team could pilot it within one locality and measure outcomes before expanding. Mathematical modeling can help with repair uncertainty, incentives, or resource constraints; entrepreneurship can turn a reliable workflow into a viable service.
mathematics-logic
asia
indonesia
repair
parts
might
businesses
find
compatible
appliances
manufacturers
longer
support
local
actors
social-civic-problems
united
before
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Safety filters designed to block clearly harmful requests can sometimes be bypassed through indirect or creatively phrased questions that still elicit dangerous information. Closing this gap while preserving the system's general usefulness remains an unresolved balancing act.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
dangerous
questions
phrased
haven
found
way
prevent
chat
systems
unintentionally
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Some counterfeit or unsafe products carry fabricated safety certification marks that can be difficult for both consumers and regulators to quickly verify as fraudulent. Strengthening certification verification systems remains an unresolved consumer protection issue.
society-governance
global-unspecified
systems
safety
consumer
build
fully
reliable
detect
ai-generated
fake
product
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
resolved
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Instruction manuals generated automatically for online product listings sometimes contain fabricated or inaccurate safety information, since the process isn't always reviewed by someone with real product knowledge. This creates real safety risks for consumers.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
product
manuals
contain
build
fully
reliable
systems
detect
ai-generated
fake
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
prevent
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Employees or attackers can sometimes use carefully crafted prompts to trick AI systems integrated into company tools into revealing sensitive internal information they weren't meant to share. Fully closing this security gap remains an unresolved AI safety challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
systems
revealing
internal
company
haven
found
way
prevent
chat
being
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Counterfeit electronics, from chargers to batteries, sometimes skip proper safety certification entirely, creating fire and shock risks for unsuspecting consumers. Detecting and stopping these products at scale remains an unresolved supply chain challenge.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
supply-chain
counterfeit
electronics
safety
haven
solved
prevent
consumer
bypassing
testing
reaching
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
way
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Attackers can sometimes broadcast false GPS signals that mislead navigation systems on ships, aircraft, or vehicles, creating serious safety risks. Reliable, widely deployed defenses against this kind of spoofing remain incomplete.
society-governance
global-unspecified
gps
spoofing
mislead
navigation
systems
ships
aircraft
build
technology
fully
technology-computing
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
haven
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
Content about topics like drug use, violence, or self-harm can be either genuinely educational or genuinely harmful depending on context and intent, and automated filters still struggle to reliably tell the difference. This creates ongoing tension between safety and access to legitimate information.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
content
filters
reliably
between
educational
harmful
topics
build
distinguish
material
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
resolved
technology-computing
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Companies increasingly build products using AI models developed by others, but there's no consistent, scalable way to verify those models are safe and reliable before integration. This creates hidden risk throughout the growing AI supply chain.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
supply-chain
models
scalable
way
verify
products
don
have
safety
third-party
businesses
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fake or substandard electronic parts sometimes slip into supply chains for critical equipment, including medical devices and vehicles, and current detection methods are neither fast nor cheap enough to catch every case. This creates hidden safety risks across many industries.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
supply-chain
electronic
supply
chains
don
have
reliable
low-cost
way
detect
counterfeit
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Updating software running power grids or medical devices carries real risk of unexpected downtime, but delaying updates leaves known security gaps open longer. Balancing update speed with operational safety remains an unresolved tradeoff.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
software
updates
haven
found
way
make
critical
infrastructure
both
fast
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Early brain-computer interfaces show promise for helping paralyzed patients control devices with thought alone, but long-term safety, reliability, and signal accuracy remain unresolved. Wider medical adoption depends on solving these fundamental issues first.
health-biology
global-unspecified
brain-computer
interfaces
medical
haven
solved
make
safe
reliable
enough
widespread
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
way
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cell and gene therapies may deliver durable remissions but have complex safety profiles. Post-marketing registries and patient-reported outcome platforms can close knowledge gaps.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
therapies
new
cancer
will
demand
better
real-world
data
understand
long-term
society-governance
public
registries
health-biology
governance
technology-computing