World Solve

The problem of behaviour change campaigns failing continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Addressing campaign finance remaining opaque is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

Future political manipulation may be conducted by large networks of bots, synthetic personas, and microtargeted propaganda. The challenge is detecting and deterring these campaigns without undermining legitimate civic participation. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

Bad actors can spread coordinated campaigns across several platforms at once, and current detection systems often work in isolation per platform rather than recognizing the broader cross-platform pattern. Building this kind of coordinated detection remains an unresolved industry challenge.

Coordinated groups, sometimes aided by bots, can flood a business or creator with negative reviews for reasons unrelated to actual quality, and platforms struggle to distinguish this from genuine customer dissatisfaction at scale. Fair, reliable detection of this manipulation remains unresolved.

AI can generate large volumes of convincing, varied text quickly, making it easier for bad actors to run coordinated disinformation campaigns that are harder to detect than repetitive, obviously automated posts. Staying ahead of this evolving tactic remains an unresolved challenge.

Scammers can quickly generate convincing fake charity campaigns using AI-created images and stories, especially in the aftermath of real disasters, diverting donations away from legitimate relief efforts. Verifying legitimacy quickly enough remains an unresolved challenge for donation platforms.

AI-driven bot accounts can now mimic human behavior and conversation patterns closely enough to evade many detection systems, allowing coordinated manipulation campaigns to operate largely undetected. Keeping detection ahead of this evolving threat remains an ongoing challenge.

Microplastics likely reach Antarctic waters and ice via ocean currents and human activity, but data are sparse. Standardised sampling campaigns and analytical pipelines are required.

Sub-glacial lakes and channels affect ice dynamics and unique ecosystems, but access is difficult. Remote sensing and careful drilling campaigns can expand knowledge.

Sub-glacial lakes and channels affect ice dynamics and unique ecosystems, but access is difficult. Remote sensing and careful drilling campaigns can expand knowledge.

Hybrid warfare tactics, including deepfakes and targeted propaganda, erode trust and polarise societies. Detection and provenance tools for media and secure civic-information channels are urgently needed.

Hybrid warfare tactics, including deepfakes and targeted propaganda, erode trust and polarise societies. Detection and provenance tools for media and secure civic-information channels are urgently needed.

Planets ejected from their systems may roam the galaxy unbound, affecting models of planet formation. Gravitational microlensing campaigns can constrain their population.

Gas, dust, magnetic fields, and cosmic rays interact across scales, but many parameters are poorly measured. Multi-band surveys and simulation campaigns can connect small-scale physics with galactic evolution.

Resonances and perturbations can destabilize orbits over billions of years. N-body simulations and long-term observation campaigns can test stability.

Open defecation persists in some regions despite large public sanitation campaigns, contributing to disease spread. Low-cost decentralized toilet and sludge-treatment systems could close remaining gaps.

Weak digital literacy and law enforcement capacity make the continent both a source and target of online fraud and scams. Regional cybercrime units and public awareness campaigns need significant investment.

Incumbent politicians in many countries can use public funds, staff, or platforms to boost their own re-election chances, giving them an unfair advantage over challengers. Clear, enforced separation between state resources and campaigning remains inconsistent.

As AI-generated images, videos, and text become easier to produce, election laws in most places haven't caught up with rules for disclosure or restriction. This leaves a rapidly growing campaign tactic largely unregulated.