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UnDisciplined: The Computer Scientist And The Information Systems Specialist

This week on UnDisciplined, we're talking about the ways computers help people do things better. 

One of our guests studies the way video games can be used to build better workplaces. Our other guest researches how artificial intelligence can help us tell better jokes — that's right, better jokes. 

Robert West is an assistant professor in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where he leads the Data Science Lab. He's also the co-author of a recent paper that discusses a method for using artificial engineering to write satire. 

James Gaskin is an associate professor of information systems at the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University. His recent work, published in the journal Transcations on Human-Compute Interaction, details a study that found newly-formed work teams can experience a 20 percent increase in productivity on subsequent tasks after playing video games together. 

Matthew LaPlante has reported on ritual infanticide in Northern Africa, insurgent warfare in the Middle East, the legacy of genocide in Southeast Asia, and gang violence in Central America. But a few years back, something occurred to him: Maybe the news doesn't have to be so brutally depressing all the time. These days, he balances his continuing work on more heartbreaking subjects with his work on UnDisciplined — Utah Public Radio's weekly program on science and discovery.