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.
Publicly citable
Every problem has a stable citation code for reference and discussion.
Filtered by relevance
Search by category, geography, status, and keywords.
Builder-oriented
Use the repository to find startup ideas, policy leads, and research agendas.
4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Specialized AI hardware is improving, but there's still a significant tradeoff between processing power and energy efficiency that hasn't been fully solved. Breaking this tradeoff could dramatically reduce AI's growing environmental footprint.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
yet
build
energy-efficient
chips
match
performance
current
power-hungry
processors
tradeoff
whether
mathematics-logic
haven
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
energy
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Search engines have improved at understanding context, but still frequently misinterpret nuanced or ambiguous queries, returning results that miss what the user actually wanted. True intent understanding remains an unresolved challenge in information retrieval.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
search
user
intent
build
algorithms
fully
understand
actual
rather
just
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
haven
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fake reviews generated at scale by AI can be nearly indistinguishable from genuine customer feedback, undermining trust in online shopping decisions. Detection tools are struggling to keep pace with how convincing these fakes have become.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
have
fake
reviews
online
shopping
don
reliable
way
prevent
ai-generated
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many blockchain networks still struggle with slow transaction speeds and high fees during periods of heavy use, limiting their practicality for small, everyday purchases. Scaling solutions exist but haven't fully solved this tradeoff yet.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
blockchain
haven
solved
everyday
make
transactions
fast
cheap
enough
small-scale
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
way
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Documents with rich formatting, fonts, or embedded content can still look different or break entirely when opened in different software or on different devices. A truly universal, faithful format remains elusive despite decades of digital document use.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
truly
universal
format
documents
software
devices
different
build
file
preserves
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
determine
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Search results are increasingly cluttered with content engineered to game ranking algorithms rather than genuinely help users, and search engines are struggling to keep pace with these tactics. This has made finding trustworthy information online noticeably harder over time.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
search
engines
genuinely
information
content
yet
build
reliably
separate
useful
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Humans can learn a new task from a handful of examples, while most AI systems still need massive amounts of training data to perform reliably. Closing this efficiency gap remains one of AI research's central unsolved challenges.
society-governance
global-unspecified
systems
new
humans
examples
build
generalize
skills
way
just
few
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
whether
mathematics-logic
resolved
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Once a photo or video is edited or generated, there's often no reliable way to trace it back to prove whether the original was authentic. Building this verification into cameras and platforms from the start remains an unsolved industry challenge.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
way
don
have
widely
adopted
verify
authenticity
digital
photos
videos
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Content that provokes strong emotional reactions tends to get algorithmically boosted because it keeps people engaged longer, regardless of whether it's accurate or healthy. Redesigning these systems without destroying platform business models remains unresolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
content
haven
found
way
prevent
social
media
algorithms
disproportionately
amplifying
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI systems can generate false information with the same fluent, confident tone as accurate information, making it hard for users to tell the difference without independently verifying every claim. Reducing this so-called hallucination problem remains a central AI research challenge.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
false
yet
reliably
detect
chatbot
confidently
stating
something
completely
information
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Today's most capable AI models are trained on vast datasets scraped from the internet, often including copyrighted works and personal information without clear consent. Finding effective training methods that avoid this legal and ethical gray area remains unsolved.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
don
training
methods
copyrighted
personal
have
require
enormous
amounts
data
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
way
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI can now generate fake news articles, complete with realistic writing style and structure, faster than fact-checkers can identify and flag them. This growing speed gap threatens public trust in written information generally.
society-governance
global-unspecified
news
haven
solved
prevent
ai-written
misinformation
appearing
indistinguishable
real
now
whether
philosophy-ethics
way
technology-computing
fake
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Over the next two decades, rising resistance in bacteria, fungi, and parasites risks undermining surgery, chemotherapy, and intensive care. Global surveillance networks, rapid diagnostics, and new antimicrobial development platforms are crucial to avert a post-antibiotic era.
health-biology
global-unspecified
antimicrobial
resistance
over
next
decades
make
routine
infections
deadly
again
will
data
climate-environment
society-governance
infrastructure
europe
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Deforestation, wildlife trade, and dense urbanisation increase contact between humans and animal reservoirs, enabling novel pathogens to emerge. Planetary-health surveillance systems and adaptable vaccine platforms will be essential.
health-biology
global-unspecified
deforestation
future
pandemics
driven
zoonotic
spillover
likely
become
frequent
wildlife
systems
society-governance
surveillance
detecting
rapid
without
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Deforestation, wildlife trade, and dense urbanisation increase contact between humans and animal reservoirs, enabling novel pathogens to emerge. Planetary-health surveillance systems and adaptable vaccine platforms will be essential.
health-biology
global-unspecified
deforestation
future
pandemics
driven
zoonotic
spillover
likely
become
frequent
variant
focuses
society-governance
systems
data
technology-computing
infrastructure
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Ageing populations, urban diets, and pollution will drive surges in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory conditions. Scalable chronic-care models, digital coaching tools, and preventive policy reforms are needed.
society-governance
global-unspecified
policy-reform
will
non-communicable
diseases
dominate
mortality
low-income
countries
2040
ageing
populations
health-biology
health
climate-environment
non
communicable
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
By the 2030s and 2040s, extreme heat and shifting mosquito ranges will expand malaria, dengue, and other infections into new regions. Heat-health early-warning systems and climate-sensitive disease-modelling platforms must be deployed.
health-biology
global-unspecified
climate-change
will
climate
change
amplify
heat-related
illness
vector-borne
diseases
2030s
2040s
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
governance
building
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Genomic and biomarker-driven therapies will transform oncology and rare disease care, but high costs and limited capacity risk concentrating benefits in wealthy populations. Fair pricing, global data-sharing, and low-cost diagnostics will be critical.
health-biology
global-unspecified
will
limited
precision
medicine
create
new
inequalities
access
remains
genomic
society-governance
economics-resources
whether
institutions
philosophy-ethics
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
mRNA and vector-based technologies can shorten response times, but manufacturing capacity and regulatory agility must be built in advance. Global manufacturing networks and adaptive trial designs will matter.
health-biology
global-unspecified
must
next-generation
vaccine
platforms
ready
respond
weeks
new
threats
manufacturing
technology-computing
economics-resources
will
pathogens
market
rapid
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
mRNA and vector-based technologies can shorten response times, but manufacturing capacity and regulatory agility must be built in advance. Global manufacturing networks and adaptive trial designs will matter.
health-biology
global-unspecified
must
next-generation
vaccine
platforms
ready
respond
weeks
new
threats
variant
infrastructure
will
climate-environment
data
technology-computing
society-governance