“I should’ve tested it more,” he confessed to his team, eyes burning. “This isn’t just entertainment. It’s trust .” The backlash could’ve shattered NLE. Instead, Hayden doubled down on transparency. He hired a team of ethical AI advisors, including his former rival, Mira Chen, and launched NLE Gives , a program where profits funded digital literacy in rural schools. He also pivoted to smaller, community-driven projects: a senior center where elders taught teens traditional dance via AR, a grief support group that used holograms to replay happy memories.