Existing Solutions
Be a student of the ways our ancestors have tried to solve the big problems of humanity.
look beyond the new and flashy Artifacts, and look for relevant ideas that never quite made it off the ground.
When an idea gets lost in the space between its genesis as an embryonic system and its full realization as an artifact, it is considered a failure, regardless of its potential.
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There are a lot of good, existing solutions to problems that are not being spontaneously adopted by users. There are a number of possible reasons for that: it may be that the solution has problems of its own that need to be worked out. It may be that it is not developed fully enough (to go into production, for example). It may be that it is somehow being suppressed. Or it may simply be that no one knows about it.
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Buckminster Fuller talked about this in terms of generalized principles that had been discovered but were not widely known. His assertion was that such hidden principles often hold the key to solving the problems of our times.
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The idea of creating Open Artifacts projects is new and may need some evangelists (of the kind that Apple used to promote its products) to make it a popular idea. We can act as a kind of shepherd of good ideas, taking them under our wing and moving them toward a place where they can be adopted by users.
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Expired patents might be a good place to look for these kinds of things. Also, older books that are well-written but need a bit of updating. If you can convince an author to make it an Open Artifacts project, it could be given new life.
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Design contests or university projects are also potential sources of this kind of work.
Therefore:
Look for great ideas that have been abandoned or left behind in some way, and work to create a community of people that will develop them so they can become fully realized.
As you find existing solutions, help launch them as Open Artifacts projects