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
Scammers can quickly generate convincing fake charity campaigns using AI-created images and stories, especially in the aftermath of real disasters, diverting donations away from legitimate relief efforts. Verifying legitimacy quickly enough remains an unresolved challenge for donation platforms.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
fake
charity
relief
campaigns
donations
don
have
reliable
way
prevent
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even with privacy safeguards, AI models can sometimes reproduce specific pieces of sensitive information they encountered during training when prompted the right way. Fully preventing this kind of unintentional data leakage remains an unresolved technical challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
models
sensitive
training
data
haven
solved
prevent
large
language
inadvertently
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
way
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Despite improved detection tools, non-consensual intimate images can still spread quickly across platforms before removal, causing lasting harm to victims. Faster, more comprehensive detection and removal systems remain an urgent unmet need.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
systems
non-consensual
intimate
build
fully
effective
automated
detect
remove
imagery
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI can now generate entirely fake but convincing photos and personas used to build fraudulent romantic or social relationships online for financial exploitation. Detecting and removing these fake profiles quickly enough remains an unresolved platform challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
fake
social
profiles
haven
found
way
prevent
ai-generated
media
being
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Scammers can deploy AI-driven chat systems that convincingly impersonate real customer service representatives to extract sensitive information from victims. Detecting and shutting down these operations quickly remains an unresolved challenge for platforms and regulators.
society-governance
global-unspecified
systems
customer
service
haven
found
way
prevent
generating
convincing
fake
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Building one app that works well across many different operating systems and device types often results in compromises that make it less polished than a dedicated, platform-specific version. Fully closing this quality gap remains an unresolved software engineering tradeoff.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
make
app
results
device
don
have
reliable
way
cross-platform
development
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
mathematics-logic
agreed
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
Scammers increasingly use AI to generate convincing fake job postings and interview processes designed to steal personal information or money from desperate job seekers. Platforms are still catching up to detect and remove these scams effectively.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
job
fake
scams
seekers
don
have
reliable
way
prevent
ai-generated
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
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
Many critical systems, including in banking and government, still run on decades-old code that few current developers understand, and automated modernization tools remain unreliable for anything but simple cases. This leaves critical infrastructure dependent on shrinking expertise.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
systems
code
yet
build
software
automatically
reliably
translate
legacy
modern
society-governance
mathematics-logic
whether
philosophy-ethics
critical
public
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As AI-powered search and assistants become primary ways people find information, a small number of companies effectively shape what most people see and believe. Ensuring this influence remains fair and transparent remains a largely unresolved governance issue.
society-governance
global-unspecified
companies
influence
information
haven
solved
prevent
large
having
outsized
over
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Low-code and no-code platforms have made software creation more accessible, but users without security expertise can still inadvertently build applications with serious vulnerabilities. Making these tools both accessible and inherently safe remains an unresolved design challenge.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
build
accessible
tools
software
security
programming
let
non-experts
safely
powerful
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Video files, especially in high resolution, still require significant storage and bandwidth despite decades of compression research, and further meaningful improvements have become harder to achieve. This constrains streaming quality and cost, especially in areas with limited bandwidth.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
compression
video
yet
build
data
methods
meaningfully
outperform
current
standards
whether
climate-environment
technology-computing
mathematics-logic
open
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Older adults are often left behind as digital tools and platforms evolve quickly, with educational resources struggling to keep up with both the pace of change and different learning needs. Closing this generational digital literacy gap remains an ongoing challenge.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
digital
literacy
keep
pace
older
haven
solved
make
education
rapidly
technology-computing
whether
philosophy-ethics
african
remains
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Recommendation algorithms optimize for engagement, which can unintentionally narrow the range of content users are exposed to over time, reinforcing existing beliefs rather than broadening perspective. Designing systems that balance engagement with diversity of exposure remains unresolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
recommendation
systems
users
narrow
don
have
reliable
way
prevent
trapping
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI-generated contracts, court filings, or legal notices can appear authentic enough to deceive people unfamiliar with proper legal formatting, creating new fraud risks. Detecting these fakes reliably remains an emerging unresolved challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
legal
don
have
effective
way
prevent
systems
generating
convincing
fake
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many popular games include purchasable randomized rewards that closely resemble gambling mechanics, and current age protections and regulations remain inconsistent across different countries and platforms. Protecting younger players from this remains an unresolved policy and design challenge.
society-governance
global-unspecified
mechanics
younger
players
haven
solved
make
video
game
loot
box
philosophy-ethics
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
climate-environment
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Self-driving systems have improved dramatically in ideal conditions, but heavy rain, snow, or unusual road situations still challenge their sensors and decision-making. Achieving true all-condition reliability remains an unresolved engineering problem.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
road
conditions
yet
build
fully
autonomous
vehicles
perform
safely
all
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
systems
haven
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Machine translation has become remarkably fluent, but it still frequently misses emotional nuance, sarcasm, or culturally specific meaning that changes a sentence's true intent. Bridging this final layer of understanding remains unresolved.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
machine
translation
emotional
build
fully
preserves
tone
subtlety
very
different
whether
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
possible
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
App permission systems exist, but many apps still collect more data than users realize or intend to allow, often through complex, hard-to-navigate settings. True granular control over personal data remains inconsistently implemented across platforms.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
data
users
control
personal
apps
collect
don
have
widely
trusted
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
systems
determine
society-governance