World Solve

accelerating loss of the world's forests remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.

massive accumulation of plastic in the oceans remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.

The problem of dangerous levels of air pollution in cities continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

housing that remains unaffordable for ordinary families remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.

The problem of mass unemployment and underemployment continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

The problem of unequal treatment of boys and girls in schools and homes continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Future systems may allow designated family members to rewind and revise recorded life timelines after a person dies. The challenge is balancing grief, legacy, and historical accuracy while preventing revisionism that harms living people or erases inconvenient truths. Solutions must define clear consent rules, audit trails, and limits on alteration.

The problem of lack of clean and safe drinking water continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

The problem of children going to bed hungry every night continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Future technologies may allow external parties to alter or insert content into shared dream environments while people sleep. The problem is establishing consent, ownership, and integrity boundaries for experiences that occur outside waking awareness. Any solution must define measurable harms, protect privacy without eliminating beneficial dream-sharing uses, and function across different neural interface standards.

Severe solar storms can disrupt satellites, power grids, navigation, aviation, and communication networks. Future resilience requires better forecasting, hardened systems, coordinated shutdown procedures, and affordable protection for developing countries. 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.

Some future climate interventions may have planetary effects while remaining scientifically and politically contested. The challenge is designing governance for experimentation, consent, liability, and termination before deployment escalates. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

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.

Biometric identity can reduce fraud while also excluding people whose fingerprints, faces, or documents do not match. The open problem is creating identity governance that is secure without making access to basic entitlements brittle. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

Heatwaves may force governments to decide who gets priority access to cooling centers, electricity, transport, and medical care. The challenge is building allocation rules that are both ethical and operationally enforceable. The challenge is especially acute across fragmented municipalities, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

Historical records increasingly exist in fragile digital formats that may outlive current software, vendors, and hardware. The unresolved problem is preserving public memory across decades of technological change. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

AI agents may perform tasks once done by contractors, analysts, translators, and assistants. The challenge is creating rules for liability, taxation, attribution, and market fairness when human labor and machine labor overlap. The challenge is especially acute across multiple jurisdictions, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

AI agents may perform tasks once done by contractors, analysts, translators, and assistants. The challenge is creating rules for liability, taxation, attribution, and market fairness when human labor and machine labor overlap. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

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.

Digital consultation can produce large volumes of participation while still failing to influence decisions. The challenge is creating governance processes where consultation changes outcomes and does not become symbolic theater. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.