We all know there are big problems in the world today; debt crises, illiteracy, global warming, are only a few. Google has assembled a team to generate radical ideas to find solutions to the world’s biggest problems, and they call the initiative “Solve for X“.
Tackling the biggest global issues
You may wonder, how can a group of people at “Solve for X” find solutions to problems that have puzzled world leaders for years? The brain trust at “Solve for X” is comprised of forty-six scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators from all over the world. And these people are enthusiastic. Google explains it as: “This combination of things—a huge problem to solve, a radical solution for solving it and the breakthrough technology to make it happen—is the essence of a moonshot.”
Tackling water scarcity
Last month Mashable.com ran a story on the “Solve for X” project. Mashable cited the account of an individual who participated in a “Solve for X” retreat. He said that they were focused on the issue of water scarcity. What resolutions did they come up with on this retreat? One involved forward osmosis with recycled ammonium salts. It’s fine if you don’t understand what that means, fortuitously the people at “Solve for X” do.
The need for technology brain trusts
“Solve for X” might not generate any real, practical, solutions for the world’s problems nevertheless the brain trust idea certainly has possibilities. Technology has, and can, alter the world for the better; we just need outside the box thinking to come up with ideas. So we shall see if “Solve for X” comes up with innovative purposes of technologies we currently have.