World Solve

The problem of global north controlling narratives 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 gangs controlling neighbourhoods 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.

corporate concentration controlling food prices remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.

Spoken dialogue that produces persistent aerial annotations can create distraction, privacy leaks, and unequal access to context. The problem is managing real-time annotation layers so they remain optional and controllable by speakers.

Spoken words may leave lasting sonic residues audible only to selected listeners, creating hidden layers of communication and potential surveillance. The challenge is controlling persistence, access, and erasure of these echoes so they do not undermine privacy or create invisible social hierarchies.

Research environments may unintentionally create or amplify resistance traits that escape through waste, personnel, or supply chains. Robust solutions must combine laboratory engineering, surveillance, waste treatment, and international reporting. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.

Biometric identity can reduce fraud while also excluding people whose fingerprints, faces, or documents do not match. The open problem is creating identity governance that is secure without making access to basic entitlements brittle. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.

Voice and text-based interfaces for controlling software are improving, but ensuring they interpret complex commands accurately and safely, without unintended consequences, remains unresolved. This limits how much control can be safely handed over to natural language alone.

The immune system destroys insulin-producing cells for reasons we don't fully understand, forcing patients into decades of careful daily management. A real cure would end this instead of just controlling it.

Billions of people still lack any formal digital identity, cutting them off from banking, healthcare, and government services. A decentralized system could include everyone without handing control to one entity.

Invasive plants and animals introduced by global trade and travel can outcompete native species, sometimes causing lasting ecological damage before anyone intervenes. Effective, scalable methods for controlling their spread remain incomplete.

As AI moves from answering questions to taking real actions, like managing money or controlling machinery, mistakes carry real consequences. We still lack agreed safety standards for how much autonomy is safe to hand over.

Develop targeted eradication and containment methods that protect native species, food systems, and local communities from unintended harms.