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
Sustainable aviation fuel and electric planes exist in early forms but remain far more expensive than traditional jet fuel. Making clean flying both effective and affordable is still an open engineering and economic problem.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
making
haven
solved
make
air
travel
low-carbon
unaffordable
fuel
sustainable
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
way
climate-environment
affordable
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many major rivers and aquifers are being pumped or diverted faster than rainfall can replenish them, threatening long-term water security. Without better management, some regions may simply run out of accessible fresh water.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
rivers
being
faster
stop
groundwater
drained
refill
water
major
aquifers
whether
philosophy-ethics
urban
don
long
asia
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Coral bleaching events are becoming more frequent as ocean temperatures rise, and restoration efforts are still small and slow. Without faster recovery methods, many reef ecosystems may not survive this century.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
coral
ocean
rebuild
reefs
fast
enough
keep
pace
warming
bleaching
whether
philosophy-ethics
near
protecting
marine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fish farming was supposed to relieve pressure on wild fisheries, but many farms still rely on wild-caught fish for feed. A truly sustainable seafood system would need to break that dependency entirely.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
fish
seafood
wild
haven
figured
out
farm
collapsing
populations
farming
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
have
prevent
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
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.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
cities
people
during
heat
cool
enough
protect
increasingly
severe
waves
climate-environment
systems
urban
society-governance
haven
african
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wealthy nations have historically emitted the most greenhouse gases, but poorer nations often suffer the worst climate damage. Without a fair cost-sharing system, climate justice remains mostly a talking point rather than a policy.
society-governance
global-unspecified
climate
nations
have
system
damage
don
fairly
share
cost
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
way
climate-environment
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current recycling methods for batteries often use harsh chemicals or produce hazardous waste of their own. A cleaner recycling process would make the growing battery industry far more sustainable.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
batteries
waste
haven
solved
recycle
electronics
toxic
byproducts
recycling
current
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
management
make
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Modern farming often strips soil of nutrients faster than nature can replace them, threatening long-term food production. A farming method that restores rather than depletes soil could secure food supply for generations.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
food
soil
haven
found
way
farm
depleting
grows
farming
modern
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and cleanup efforts remove only a small fraction of it. Without cutting the source and scaling removal, marine ecosystems will keep absorbing the damage.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
plastic
stop
waste
accumulating
oceans
faster
clean
millions
tons
enter
whether
philosophy-ethics
pollution
systems
mathematics-logic
fully
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As AI-generated accounts and bots flood social platforms, telling a real person from an automated one is getting harder. Without a trusted verification method, online trust and public discourse both suffer.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
trusted
person
online
real
don
have
widely
way
prove
actually
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
prevent
open
United States, North America
Modern software is built from thousands of smaller components, any of which could be secretly tampered with. Without full traceability, a single compromised piece can quietly infect software used by millions.
technology-computing
north-america
united-states
supply-chain
software
haven
solved
make
supply
chains
fully
verifiable
source
user
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
When an AI makes a harmful decision, it's often unclear whether the blame falls on the developer, the user, or the company deploying it. Without clear rules, victims of AI mistakes often have no clear path to accountability.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
have
don
legal
framework
assigns
responsibility
systems
cause
harm
often
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
way
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Hard drives fail, file formats become unreadable, and even cloud storage depends on companies staying in business. Without a truly long-lasting storage method, much of today's digital history may simply vanish.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
storage
haven
created
data
lasts
centuries
decay
format
obsolescence
hard
climate-environment
whether
smallholder
farmers
energy
mathematics-logic
open
United States, North America
Training today's largest AI models can consume as much electricity as thousands of homes use in a year. Without more efficient methods, AI's environmental cost will keep climbing alongside its capabilities.
climate-environment
north-america
united-states
models
yet
make
dramatically
less
energy
train
run
training
today
methods
society-governance
global-unspecified
assessing
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Old phones, laptops, and batteries pile up in landfills, leaking toxic materials while valuable metals inside go to waste. A cheap, safe recycling process could turn a growing pollution problem into a resource stream.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
waste
haven
figured
out
recycle
electronic
cheaply
safely
scale
old
recycling
systems
management
plastic
growing
whether
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI can now produce convincing text, images, and video in seconds, and detection tools are struggling to keep up. Without a reliable way to tell real from fake, public trust in what we see online keeps eroding.
society-governance
global-unspecified
online
real
haven
solved
verify
content
not
ai-generated
scale
now
whether
philosophy-ethics
way
resolved
prevent
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Modern AI models are often accurate but operate like black boxes, even to the people who built them. Without a way to explain their reasoning, it's hard to trust them in medicine, law, or other high-stakes decisions.
health-biology
global-unspecified
explain
don
have
systems
reliably
made
specific
decision
modern
models
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
way
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current searches scan a tiny fraction of the sky and only for a narrow range of signals. Without better tools, we may be missing evidence of other intelligent life simply because we aren't looking in the right way.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
way
don
have
reliable
search
signs
civilizations
meaningful
scale
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current detectors cost billions of dollars and can only catch the largest cosmic collisions. A cheaper detection method would let us study the universe's most violent events far more often.
health-biology
global-unspecified
study
yet
detect
gravitational
waves
cheaply
enough
routinely
current
detectors
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
way
technology-computing
reliable
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
We can now detect many dangerous asteroids years in advance, but we still lack a proven way to redirect or destroy one heading for Earth. One unlucky strike could cause damage on a civilization-ending scale.
science-space
global-unspecified
earth
haven
figured
out
reliably
protect
large
asteroid
impact
now
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
way
know
