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
Developers still occasionally and accidentally commit sensitive credentials directly into shared code repositories, creating avoidable security exposure. More robust default protections against this common mistake remain inconsistently adopted.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
code
haven
found
way
make
software
development
tools
fully
prevent
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Laying physical fiber cable across mountains, deserts, or widely scattered rural populations is often prohibitively expensive relative to the number of people served. Finding cost-effective alternatives for these hard-to-reach areas remains unresolved.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
fiber
don
have
scalable
way
build
optic
internet
infrastructure
geographically
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
agreed
prevent
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
GPS doesn't work well inside buildings, and alternative indoor positioning technologies haven't achieved the same reliability and ease of deployment needed for widespread augmented reality navigation use. Solving indoor positioning at scale remains unresolved.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
augmented
reality
navigation
work
gps
build
systems
accurate
enough
reliably
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
climate-environment
economics-resources
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Recycling facilities still rely heavily on human sorters because robotic systems struggle to reliably distinguish between similar-looking but differently recyclable materials. Improving this accuracy could significantly increase recycling efficiency worldwide.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
recycling
haven
solved
build
robotics
capable
sorting
complex
mixed
streams
systems
waste
economics-resources
management
materials
philosophy-ethics
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Aircraft safety relies heavily on scheduled inspections rather than continuous, real-time structural monitoring, since affordable sensors capable of this level of detail remain limited. Expanding this kind of predictive monitoring remains an unresolved aviation challenge.
health-biology
global-unspecified
affordable
structural
aircraft
don
have
widely
available
technology
detect
fatigue
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
way
resolved
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Computer memory still requires a tradeoff between speed, which loses data when powered off, and permanent storage, which is comparatively slower. A technology that fully combines both properties remains a long-sought but unresolved goal in computer engineering.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
computer
memory
technology
both
permanent
storage
yet
build
fast
current
whether
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
haven
possible
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
As electric vehicle adoption grows, local power grids in many areas aren't yet built to handle the sudden, concentrated demand spikes from many vehicles charging simultaneously. Upgrading this infrastructure fast enough remains an unresolved challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
electric
infrastructure
enough
handle
sudden
vehicle
charging
haven
found
way
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
make
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Physical hardware used in sensitive systems can sometimes be tampered with before installation, and detecting this tampering reliably and affordably remains technically challenging. Closing this hardware security gap remains an unresolved priority.
society-governance
global-unspecified
hardware
systems
don
have
reliable
way
build
affordable
tamper-evident
securing
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Migrating decades-old databases to modern systems carries real risk of subtle data corruption or loss, and fully automated, zero-risk migration tools remain unavailable for many complex legacy systems. This keeps organizations tied to outdated, harder-to-maintain infrastructure.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
systems
legacy
databases
risk
data
loss
build
software
automatically
safely
society-governance
whether
mathematics-logic
climate-environment
philosophy-ethics
across
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many cities, especially in lower-income regions, lack dense, affordable air quality sensor networks capable of providing residents with accurate, real-time pollution information. Closing this monitoring gap remains an unresolved public health infrastructure challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
public-health
affordable
air
quality
accurate
public
health
monitoring
haven
solved
build
whether
philosophy-ethics
health-biology
society-governance
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Networking equipment can potentially be intercepted and secretly modified during shipping before it ever reaches its intended destination, creating hidden long-term security risks. Building tamper-evident supply chains for this hardware remains incompletely adopted.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
supply-chain
networking
hardware
during
shipping
don
have
way
build
computer
fully
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fraudulent recall notices, generated to appear official, could mislead consumers into either unnecessary returns or ignoring genuine safety recalls entirely. Verifying the authenticity of recall communications quickly remains an unresolved consumer safety issue.
local-regional
global-unspecified
recall
notices
consumers
haven
solved
prevent
ai-generated
fake
product
confusing
philosophy-ethics
whether
way
technology-computing
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fabricated certificates claiming completion of online courses that were never actually finished can undermine trust in credentialing from these platforms. Strengthening verification processes remains an unresolved challenge for online education providers.
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
online
completion
certificates
platforms
don
have
reliable
way
prevent
systems
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fraudulent internship offers, sometimes requesting upfront fees or personal information, can be convincingly generated to target students eager for career opportunities. Detecting and preventing this scam pattern remains an unresolved challenge for students and universities alike.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
students
internship
offers
eager
don
have
scalable
way
prevent
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Bots or incentivized fake responses can flood academic research surveys, introducing unreliable data that researchers may not always catch before drawing conclusions. Improving survey integrity verification remains an unresolved methodological challenge.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
fake
academic
survey
responses
research
data
integrity
haven
solved
prevent
whether
philosophy-ethics
technology-computing
society-governance
way
systems
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Fraudulent platforms mimicking legitimate academic networking sites could collect sensitive researcher information under false pretenses. Verifying platform legitimacy before widespread academic adoption remains an unresolved trust issue.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
academic
platforms
researcher
haven
found
way
prevent
ai-generated
fake
research
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Automated research assistance tools can sometimes generate incorrectly formatted citations that students may not catch before submitting academic work. Improving reliability in these widely used tools remains an unresolved quality issue.
technology-computing
global-unspecified
academic
research
assistance
don
have
reliable
way
prevent
ai-generated
fake
philosophy-ethics
whether
resolved
determine
agreed
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Current noise cancellation works well for constant background noise but still struggles with sudden, sharp sounds, sometimes even letting through more noise briefly during the adjustment. A truly adaptive system remains technically unresolved.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
sudden
sounds
noise
haven
solved
make
noise-canceling
headphones
fully
block
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
possible
way
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Battery life claims often assume light use, and demanding tasks like video editing or gaming can drain a laptop's battery in just a few hours. Meaningfully extending battery life under heavy real-world use remains an unresolved hardware challenge.
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
laptop
heavy
battery
don
have
batteries
last
full
workday
needing
whether
determine
resolved
way
agreed
haven
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Wireless charging remains noticeably slower and less energy-efficient than plugging in directly, limiting its adoption as a true primary charging method. Closing this performance gap remains an unresolved engineering challenge.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
charging
wireless
yet
build
technology
fast
efficient
enough
fully
replace
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
haven
resolved
technology-computing
