The Hero Awards has launched a new protocol that enables everyday individuals to develop credible action plans for all 169 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal targets using a guided workflow that harnesses multiple artificial intelligence systems. According to CIO John Toomey, the system allows participants to produce outsized impact in approximately three hours by converting SDG targets into practical action plans through a structured seven-step process.
Since 2019, The Hero Awards has recognized individuals and teams advancing progress toward the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. With the rise of generative AI, the organization developed a methodology to make heroism practical, accessible, and predictable. Education Director Amy Chang explained that the protocol produces multiple outputs including a GPT listed on OpenAI's GPT store, a continuously refreshed Innovation Engine built with Google's NotebookLM, and starting in 2026, a group collaboration tool based in Microsoft Loop.
"There hasn't been an obvious route for everyday 'heroes' to earn recognition for sustained work on planetary challenges," said Sustainability Director Savithri Patel. "So we created a process that blends human judgment with AI—moving ideas across multiple models to make them more grounded, more practical, and less vulnerable to hallucinations." The organization views this approach as helping participants "Be the Singularity" by epitomizing the moment when AI begins to outperform human intelligence.
The workflow begins by priming each AI system with heavily tested prompts to maintain focus on generating actionable, real-world solutions. Each model then extends and refines the prior model's work, adding specificity, clarity, and verification steps as proposals progress. The current highest-performing sequence includes Meta.ai, Claude, CodeCopilot.microsoft.com, Gemini.google.com v.3, Perplexity.ai, Deepseek.com, and ChatGPT (v.5.2). Participants work through all seven systems to strengthen and stress-test their plans.
Completed solutions are archived on The Hero Awards' Academia.edu page for review, reuse, and improvement. Winners receive recognition across the organization's platforms and gain the unique privilege of conferring the honor upon others who complete the protocol. The organization maintains additional resources at theheroaward.substack.com and theheroaward.net.
The workflow develops both the final deliverable and the participant's skills, according to Patel. "Each AI has its own 'personality,' with different strengths and blind spots," she said. "By iterating across all seven models, participants don't just get better results from the tools—they accelerate their own analytical and creative abilities." Preliminary data from a 2022 project showed significant outcomes: for every 100 completed procedures, 29 participants produced content gaining traditional media traction, 14 were quoted in academic or professional journals, 7 launched NGOs or non-profits connected to their chosen Target, and 5 founded startups.
The largest source of new participants in 2025 was Substack creators, who were among the first to test the complete system. Chang emphasized the initiative's broader significance: "We see this as a way to democratize planetary stewardship and human flourishing. It's work—but it's enjoyable work using familiar AI tools—and it helps people develop a global mindset that makes change feel both achievable and personally meaningful." The protocol aligns with the UN's comprehensive framework available at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/.
