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
Hiring tools, loan approval systems, and other automated decisions can unintentionally replicate historical biases present in their training data. Fully eliminating this bias while keeping systems useful remains unresolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
systems
bias
automated
haven
solved
prevent
algorithmic
creeping
decision
hiring
society-governance
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
climate-environment
open
United States, North America
Old software often becomes unusable as operating systems and hardware change around it, forcing costly rewrites or abandonment. Designing for genuine long-term durability is rarely prioritized.
technology-computing
north-america
united-states
software
yet
build
ages
well
remaining
usable
secure
decades
release
systems
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Sending money internationally is often slow, expensive, or restricted depending on where you live, despite living in a supposedly connected digital economy. A truly borderless payment system remains unbuilt.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
digital
payment
don
have
interoperable
systems
work
equally
well
whether
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
resolved
determine
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Data breaches exposing millions of passwords happen with striking regularity, despite widespread awareness of the problem. A more fundamentally secure approach to authentication is still needed.
health-biology
global-unspecified
breaches
haven
found
way
stop
password
happening
regularly
data
exposing
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
prevent
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Despite decades of robotics research, folding laundry or loading a dishwasher remains far harder for robots than tasks like chess or driving. Everyday physical tasks turn out to be a much harder problem than expected.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
robots
build
affordable
capable
doing
basic
household
chores
reliably
harder
technology-computing
whether
yet
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Once deployed, a model could be subtly altered or poisoned without obvious signs, potentially changing its behavior in harmful ways. There's no simple, universal way yet to verify a model is exactly as it was originally trained.
health-biology
global-unspecified
model
way
don
have
reliable
detect
has
been
secretly
tampered
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many people experience nausea, eye strain, or discomfort after even short VR sessions, limiting its use for work or long entertainment sessions. A truly comfortable headset remains an unsolved hardware and software challenge.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
comfortable
haven
solved
make
virtual
reality
enough
extended
daily
sessions
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
3D printing has transformed prototyping, but printing functional circuits and electronics remains unreliable and limited. Solving this could make custom electronics production dramatically faster and cheaper.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
printing
electronics
yet
build
printers
capable
reliably
complex
not
just
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
haven
fully
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Countless websites, articles, and pages vanish permanently when companies shut down or servers go offline. Without better and more complete web archiving, we risk losing large chunks of internet history.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
websites
don
have
good
way
archive
online
content
disappear
forever
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Early brain-computer interfaces show promise for people with paralysis, but they remain expensive, invasive, or unreliable outside controlled lab settings. Making them practical for everyday use is still unsolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
brain-computer
interfaces
outside
haven
created
affordable
work
reliably
laboratory
early
philosophy-ethics
whether
health-biology
mathematics-logic
determine
solved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Search results are ranked mostly by popularity and relevance signals, not by actual accuracy, letting false but engaging content rise to the top. A better system needs to weigh truthfulness, not just engagement.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
search
build
engines
reliably
separate
high-quality
information
convincing
misinformation
not
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
yet
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Even experienced teams regularly introduce bugs into complex software, some of which cause expensive failures. Languages or tools that can mathematically guarantee certain classes of bugs can't exist would be a major step forward.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
bugs
languages
software
certain
don
have
programming
make
large
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Billions of people still lack any formal digital identity, cutting them off from banking, healthcare, and government services. A decentralized system could include everyone without handing control to one entity.
society-governance
global-unspecified
digital
identity
haven
solved
give
every
person
earth
verifiable
central
technology-computing
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
african
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Scammers constantly find new ways around call-blocking systems, and phone networks still let large volumes of fraudulent calls through. A truly effective, adaptive solution remains elusive.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
calls
yet
stop
spam
scam
reaching
phones
despite
years
filtering
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Homes filled with gadgets from different brands often struggle to talk to each other properly, frustrating users and limiting real automation. A shared, open standard would fix this fragmentation.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
standard
different
don
have
universal
letting
smart
home
devices
work
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
way
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Millions of applications depend on open-source code maintained by volunteers, and a single hidden change can spread unnoticed to countless systems. A trustworthy verification system remains a major unsolved need.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
open-source
haven
built
way
fully
verify
software
hasn
been
secretly
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
society-governance
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
These particles carry more energy than anything we can produce on Earth, and we still don't know exactly what cosmic event launches them our way. Identifying the source could reveal entirely new astrophysical processes.
science-space
global-unspecified
source
cosmic
earth
yet
explain
ultra-high-energy
rays
hitting
these
particles
whether
philosophy-ethics
know
don
resolved
energy
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cosmic radiation gradually damages electronics, and there's no way to send a repair technician to fix something millions of miles away. More radiation-hardy systems are essential for missions lasting a decade or more.
science-space
global-unspecified
electronics
missions
haven
figured
out
keep
spacecraft
reliable
during
years-long
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
systems
long
space
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
This period, known as cosmic inflation, is widely accepted as a concept but the exact physical mechanism driving it remains unproven. Confirming it would close a major gap in our understanding of the universe's first moments.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
universe
don
have
full
model
explaining
early
expanded
faster
expected
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
way
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Larger asteroids are easier to spot years ahead, but smaller ones capable of serious regional damage often go undetected until they're very close. Expanding detection capability remains a quiet but serious safety gap.
local-regional
global-unspecified
asteroids
yet
detect
small
dangerous
near-earth
far
enough
advance
but
whether
philosophy-ethics
haven
mathematics-logic
health-biology
way
