World Solve

As digital platforms increasingly influence what people see, believe, and desire, it's unclear how much this shapes authentic identity versus manufactured preference. This unresolved question grows more urgent as algorithmic influence deepens in everyday life.

Some long-term ethical frameworks argue humanity's continued existence matters more than any individual's current suffering, while others reject sacrificing real people for abstract future outcomes. This unresolved tension is increasingly relevant to debates on existential risk.

Kelp forests support diverse marine ecosystems but are increasingly vulnerable to warming waters and invasive species that outcompete them once they weaken. Restoring and protecting these ecosystems at scale remains an unresolved conservation challenge.

Many major rivers depend on glacial melt for a steady water supply, and as these glaciers shrink, the long-term water security of downstream populations becomes increasingly uncertain. Protecting or planning around this shrinking resource remains unresolved.

As temperatures rise, alpine species are forced to migrate to higher elevations, but many eventually run out of mountain left to climb, risking extinction. Protecting these increasingly squeezed ecosystems remains an unresolved conservation priority.

River deltas provide fertile land for millions of people but are increasingly eroding due to upstream dam construction and rising sea levels reducing natural sediment replenishment. Protecting these critical, densely populated areas remains an unresolved challenge.

Forests act as natural carbon sinks, but increasingly severe wildfires are turning some forests from carbon absorbers into carbon emitters faster than they can regrow and recover. Reversing this shift remains an unresolved climate feedback challenge.

As AI systems increasingly influence what billions of people see, believe, and decide, someone is effectively choosing the values baked into those systems. There's no agreed process for who that someone should be, or how they should be held accountable.

As automation and AI displace routine and increasingly cognitive labor, most economies still assume most people need traditional jobs to survive and find purpose. Without a credible alternative, mass automation risks instability rather than shared benefit.

Economic and political power increasingly concentrates in fewer hands, while regulation struggles to keep pace with how quickly this happens. Left unchecked, this threatens both economic fairness and democratic balance.

Droughts, floods, and shifting seasons are making traditional farming less reliable in many regions. Crops that can handle this unpredictability are essential to keeping global food supply stable.

Concrete and asphalt trap heat, turning cities into dangerous hot zones during extreme weather, especially for people without air conditioning. Redesigning cities to stay cooler is now a matter of public safety, not comfort.

Hospitals, power plants, and water systems increasingly run on connected computer systems that can be targeted remotely. A serious attack on any of these could cause harm far beyond the digital world.

Urban drainage infrastructure in Yemen was designed for historical rainfall patterns and now floods regularly under intensified storms, with no funded plan for systemic upgrade.

Coastal aquifers in Fiji are increasingly contaminated by saltwater intrusion driven by overextraction and rising sea levels, threatening long-term drinking water and irrigation supply.

Create affordable respite care, training, financial support, medical navigation, and community networks as dementia care increasingly occurs at home.

Develop standards and tools that detect manipulation, preserve provenance, and improve reproducibility across increasingly complex scientific workflows.

Develop durable, low-cost road, bridge, drainage, and maintenance approaches for areas facing increasingly erratic rainfall and flooding.

Utilities and hospitals in Democratic Republic of Congo increasingly face ransomware attacks, but many operate on legacy systems without the budget or expertise to implement modern cybersecurity defenses.

Smallholder farmers in Romania lack affordable, low-evaporation water storage to bridge increasingly erratic rainy seasons, forcing crop failure during even short dry spells.