World Solve

Smart thermostats have improved efficiency, but many systems still require manual adjustment to truly optimize comfort without wasting energy throughout changing conditions. Fully automated, effective climate optimization remains an unresolved technical challenge.

Solar panel efficiency has improved significantly, but in regions with less sunlight or higher installation costs, achieving full cost competitiveness with traditional energy remains inconsistent. Closing this gap universally remains an unresolved technical and economic challenge.

Voice recognition systems are typically trained on standard speech patterns, making them significantly less accurate for people with speech impairments or unusual speech patterns. Closing this accessibility gap remains an underaddressed technical challenge.

Some countries and industries pay a real cost for carbon emissions, while others pay nothing, creating an uneven playing field that undermines climate goals. A consistent global carbon price remains politically and technically unresolved.

Turning seawater into drinking water is technically possible but still too energy-intensive and expensive for many water-scarce regions. Cheaper desalination could solve water shortages for millions of people.

Data gets copied, backed up, and shared across so many servers that a single delete request rarely removes every trace. Real digital privacy requires a technical guarantee that deletion actually means deletion.

Achieving protocols for equitable and rapid distribution of medical countermeasures in pandemics at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving solutions for managing the growing burden of mental health conditions in young populations at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving low-cost diagnostics and treatments for the major neglected tropical diseases at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving technologies for verifying compliance with international environmental agreements at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving protocols for the responsible sharing and use of large-scale human genomic and health data at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving institutional designs that increase the political feasibility of ambitious climate policies at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving transparent and equitable allocation mechanisms for scarce climate finance at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving systems for continuous verification of nuclear non-proliferation commitments at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving institutional arrangements that improve the integration of climate considerations into all policy domains at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving institutional arrangements that reduce the risk of catastrophic accidents involving advanced technologies at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving mechanisms ensuring that benefits of advanced AI are widely shared rather than concentrated at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving interventions that reliably increase vaccine confidence without polarizing communities at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving affordable and scalable solutions for safe sanitation in dense urban informal settlements at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

Achieving designs for public spaces that promote social connection and mental well-being in dense cities at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.