X Global Affairs Head Nick Pickles Resigns 

The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
TT

X Global Affairs Head Nick Pickles Resigns 

The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
The "X" logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, US, July 30, 2023. (Reuters)

X's global affairs head Nick Pickles said on Thursday he is quitting after a decade with the social media company formerly called Twitter.

Pickles, who joined the company in 2014, said he had decided to leave X several months ago and was working with the Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino through the transition.

"After more than ten years, tomorrow will be my last day at X. It's been an incredible journey," he said.

It was not immediately clear what his next plans were, or why he made the decision to quit.

Elon Musk-owned X and Nick Pickles did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside of regular business hours.

In June, X's head of business operations, Joe Benarroch left the company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Pickles had started at X as a senior manager in their London office and was appointed the Vice President of Global Affairs for X in 2023 after serving in multiple roles, his LinkedIn profile showed.

The Financial Times reported that he was the company's spokesperson in battles with multiple governments, including in Brazil, which said last week it was suspending access to the social network in the country.

The popular social media platform missed a court-imposed deadline to name a legal representative in Brazil, triggering the suspension.

Musk has argued that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes was trying to enforce unjustified censorship, while the judge has insisted that X needs hate speech regulations.



Video Game Performers Reach Agreement with 80 Video Games on AI Terms 

Striking SAG-AFTRA video game performers picket outside WB Games Inc. offices on August 28, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Striking SAG-AFTRA video game performers picket outside WB Games Inc. offices on August 28, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Video Game Performers Reach Agreement with 80 Video Games on AI Terms 

Striking SAG-AFTRA video game performers picket outside WB Games Inc. offices on August 28, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Striking SAG-AFTRA video game performers picket outside WB Games Inc. offices on August 28, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

After striking for over a month, video game performers have reached agreements with 80 games that have signed interim or tiered budget agreements with the performers' union and accepted the artificial intelligence provisions they have been seeking.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists began striking in July after negotiations with game industry giants that began more than a year and a half ago came to a halt over AI protections. Union leaders say game voice actors and motion capture artists’ likenesses could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation.

SAG-AFTRA announced the agreements with the 80 individual video games on Thursday. Performers impacted by the work stoppage can now work on those projects.

The strike against other major video game publishers, including Disney and Warner Bros.' game companies and Electronic Arts Productions Inc., will continue.

The interim agreement secures wage improvements, protections around “exploitative uses” of artificial intelligence and safety precautions that account for the strain of physical performances, as well as vocal stress. The tiered budget agreement aims to make working with union talent more feasible for independent game developers or smaller-budget projects while also providing performers the protections under the interim agreement.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's national executive director and chief negotiator, said in a statement that companies signing the agreements are “helping to preserve the human art, ingenuity and creativity that fuels interactive storytelling.”

“These agreements signal that the video game companies in the collective bargaining group do not represent the will of the larger video game industry,” Crabtree-Ireland continued. “The many companies that are happy to agree to our AI terms prove that these terms are not only reasonable, but feasible and sustainable for businesses.”

The union announced Wednesday that game development studio Lightspeed L.A. has agreed to produce current and future games, including the popular title “Last Sentinel,” under the union's interim agreement, meaning it can also work with union talent as the strike persists.