The Hero Awards has introduced a new protocol that enables everyday individuals to develop comprehensive action plans for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using a sequence of seven artificial intelligence systems. According to the organization, this approach makes meaningful contributions to global challenges accessible to people who can dedicate approximately three hours to the process.
‘We designed a protocol the average participant can complete in about two or three hours,’ said Education Director Amy Chang. The system generates multiple outputs including a GPT listed on OpenAI’s GPT store, an Innovation Engine built with Google’s NotebookLM, and, beginning in 2026, a collaboration tool based in Microsoft Loop. These components work together to create what the organization describes as ‘169 robust solution-evolvers’ that continue generating new approaches to sustainability challenges over time.
The workflow operates by moving a single SDG target through a carefully sequenced chain of AI models, with each system building upon and refining the previous one’s output. The current highest-performing sequence includes Meta.ai, Claude Code, Copilot.microsoft.com, Gemini.google.com v.3, Perplexity.ai, Deepseek.com, and ChatGPT (v.5.2). According to Sustainability Director Savithri Patel, this multi-model approach helps ground ideas in practical reality while reducing vulnerabilities to AI hallucinations.
‘There hasn’t been an obvious route for everyday ‘heroes’ to earn recognition for sustained work on planetary challenges,’ Patel explained. ‘So we created a process that blends human judgment with AI—moving ideas across multiple models to make them more grounded, more practical.’ The organization frames this integration as helping participants ‘Be the Singularity,’ representing the moment when AI begins to outperform human intelligence in specific domains.
Completed solutions are archived on The Hero Awards’ Academia.edu page for public review and improvement. Participants who successfully complete the protocol receive recognition across the organization’s platforms and gain the unique ability to confer the same honor upon others who follow the same process. The organization has found that the workflow develops participants’ analytical and creative abilities alongside improving the final deliverables.
In preliminary testing conducted in 2022, the organization documented significant outcomes from participants. For every 100 completed procedures, 29 participants produced content that gained traction in traditional media, 14 were quoted in academic or professional journals, 7 launched NGOs or non-profits connected to their chosen targets, and 5 founded startups. The largest source of new participants in 2025 came from Substack creators, who were among the first to test the complete system.
Chang emphasized the broader implications of making this technology accessible. ‘We see this as a way to democratize planetary stewardship and human flourishing,’ she said. ‘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 approach represents an attempt to scale individual contributions to global challenges through structured AI collaboration.
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