Hero Awards Launches AI-Driven Protocol to Democratize Progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals

The Hero Awards has introduced a systematic approach that enables everyday individuals to contribute meaningfully to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals through a guided seven-step workflow utilizing multiple artificial intelligence systems. According to CIO John Toomey, this methodology combines complementary AI strengths to translate each of the UN's 169 SDG targets into credible, practical action plans that participants can complete in approximately two to three hours.

Since 2019, The Hero Awards has recognized individuals and teams driving progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. With the emergence of modern Generative AI, the organization developed this protocol to make heroism practical, accessible, and predictable. Education Director Amy Chang explained that outputs include a GPT listed on OpenAI's GPT store, a continuously refreshed Innovation Engine built with Google's NotebookLM, and, beginning 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." Patel described 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 with heavily tested prompts to maintain focus on producing actionable, real-world solutions. Each model builds on the previous model's work, adding detail, clarity, and verification throughout the process. The current highest-performing sequence includes Meta.ai, Claude.ai, Copilot.microsoft.com, Gemini.google.com, Perplexity.ai, Deepseek.com, and ChatGPT (v.5.2). In practice, a single SDG target is presented to the first model, with its output passed sequentially through all seven systems to strengthen and stress-test the proposal.

Completed solutions are archived on The Hero Awards' Academia.edu page at https://www.academia.edu/ for others to study, reuse, and improve. Winners receive recognition across the organization's communication channels, and awardees gain the distinctive privilege of conferring the honor on others who complete the protocol. The organization reports that the process enhances both the final deliverable and the participant's capabilities.

"Each AI has its own 'personality,' with different strengths and blind spots," Patel noted. "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 forerunner project revealed that for every 100 completed procedures, 29 participants produced content receiving traditional media traction, 14 were quoted in academic or professional journals, 7 started NGOs or non-profits associated with their chosen target, and 5 founded startups.

Substack creators emerged as the most significant source of new insightful project participants in 2025. Chang emphasized the broader implications: "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 initiative connects to the UN Global Indicator Framework available at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/, providing measurable standards for tracking progress.