World Solve

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Many users experience nausea, eye strain, or disorientation after even moderate use of virtual reality headsets, a problem that hasn't been fully solved despite years of hardware improvements. This limits how widely VR can be adopted for work or daily use.

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.

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.

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.

Fast charging speeds up daily convenience but tends to accelerate battery wear, forcing a tradeoff between speed and battery lifespan. Solving this without expensive materials remains an unresolved engineering challenge.

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.

AI tools will increasingly support diagnosis and triage, but biases and opaque models may harm patients. Transparent validation frameworks, audit trails, and clinician–AI training curricula will be key.

Demand will outpace supply of clinicians unless task-shifting, automation, and new professions emerge. Workforce-planning analytics and training platforms can support transitions.

Access to anti-ageing interventions could be skewed toward wealthy groups without deliberate policy. Equity-oriented regulation and public programmes will be required.

More ships and visitors increase risks of pollution, wildlife disturbance, and accidents in fragile environments. Data-driven tourism management systems and binding guidelines could reduce impact.

Modern AI models produce answers without a clear, checkable chain of reasoning, making it hard to know if a correct answer was reached for the right reasons. Verifiable reasoning is essential before AI can be trusted in high-stakes decisions.

Economic crises and insecurity drive people to move across borders, often without strong protection frameworks. Regional migration-data hubs and rights-based integration tools could improve responses.

Large populations live in self-built housing without secure tenure or basic services. Slum-upgrading and legal-regularisation platforms can improve living conditions.

Academics are urged to create impact but navigate complex IP and funding landscapes. University-industry matchmaking platforms and impact-oriented grant tools could help.

Waiting lists and regional disparities leave many without timely support. Digital triage and service-navigation platforms could optimise access.