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
Terms of service and software licenses are often long, dense legal documents that almost no one actually reads before clicking agree. Making these terms genuinely understandable without losing their legal protection remains unresolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
terms
software
understandable
agree
haven
found
way
make
licensing
average
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
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
Tools designed to detect AI-written assignments frequently produce false positives, wrongly flagging legitimate student work as AI-generated. This unreliability creates real consequences for students while genuine cheating sometimes slips through undetected.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
detect
ai-generated
cheating
genuine
student
work
don
have
scalable
way
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
prevent
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Small businesses are frequent targets for cyberattacks but often lack the budget or expertise to implement strong security measures. Closing this protection gap remains an unresolved challenge for a huge share of the global economy.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
cybersecurity
small
businesses
haven
solved
make
affordable
accessible
dedicated
staff
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
way
climate-environment
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
Homes are full of unpredictable obstacles, from pets to scattered toys, that robots still struggle to navigate as reliably as humans do without careful pre-mapping. This limits how useful home robots can be for daily tasks.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
robots
reliably
navigate
home
yet
build
safely
cluttered
everyday
environments
technology-computing
philosophy-ethics
affordable
whether
capable
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
It's often unclear exactly what data went into training a given AI model, making it difficult to audit for bias, copyright issues, or harmful content. Greater transparency into training data remains technically and legally unresolved.
society-governance
global-unspecified
training
data
don
have
reliable
affordable
way
verify
provenance
major
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI-powered chatbots can now conduct long, personalized, convincing conversations designed to manipulate victims into financial scams, operating at a scale no human scammer could match. Detecting and stopping this abuse remains an evolving challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
chatbots
scale
convincing
financial
scams
haven
found
way
prevent
being
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
technology-computing
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As software grows to meet more complex user needs, it also grows harder for any single team to fully understand every part of it, creating hidden risks. Balancing capability with true comprehensibility remains an unsolved software engineering challenge.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
software
enough
complex
needs
fully
understand
build
systems
modern
while
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
possible
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Advanced spyware can be installed on phones without any visible sign, and even security experts sometimes struggle to detect its presence through standard tools. Better, more accessible detection methods remain an urgent unmet need.
health-biology
global-unspecified
detect
spyware
don
have
widely
available
way
smartphone
has
been
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
AI models trained on real-world data often absorb and sometimes amplify existing societal biases, and current bias correction methods only partially address the problem. A more complete solution remains an active and unresolved area of research.
society-governance
global-unspecified
biases
data
haven
solved
make
systems
consistently
avoid
reproducing
present
whether
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Digital voting could make elections faster and more accessible, but security concerns and lack of public trust have kept most large-scale elections reliant on paper-based or hybrid systems. A truly trusted digital alternative remains unbuilt.
society-governance
global-unspecified
digital
elections
voting
trusted
yet
build
fully
reliable
tamper-proof
system
technology-computing
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
systems
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Automated moderation systems still struggle to tell the difference between genuinely harmful content and similar-looking legitimate content, like educational or satirical material. This tradeoff between over- and under-moderation remains unresolved at scale.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
content
moderation
systems
harmful
legitimate
don
have
catch
also
flagging
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
mathematics-logic
way
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
While charging speeds have improved, most electric vehicle charging still takes significantly longer than refueling with gasoline, and charging infrastructure remains inconsistent in coverage. Closing this convenience gap remains a barrier to full adoption.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
charging
electric
vehicle
refueling
haven
found
way
make
fast
convenient
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
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
Researchers have shown that inaudible or disguised audio signals can sometimes trigger voice assistants to take unintended actions without the user's knowledge. Fully closing this security gap remains unresolved.
health-biology
global-unspecified
have
voice
assistants
audio
don
reliable
way
prevent
being
manipulated
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Cybersecurity threats evolve quickly, but training programs for both professionals and everyday users often lag years behind the tactics attackers are actually using. Closing this education gap remains an ongoing structural challenge.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
cybersecurity
training
haven
solved
make
keep
pace
constantly
evolving
attack
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
way
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many data centers rely on significant volumes of water to keep servers cool, straining local water supplies especially in drought-prone regions. Alternative cooling methods that don't compete with community water needs remain underdeveloped at scale.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
water
data
centers
don
cooling
yet
build
require
massive
amounts
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
society-governance
have
