Lab Activity: Digital Humanities

 This  blog task is given by Dilip Barad Sir,

1. Moral Machine Activity

The Moral Machine activity gave us a unique opportunity to engage with one of the most pressing ethical dilemmas of the digital age: how artificial intelligence should make moral choices. Through the interactive simulation, we were asked to decide in life-and-death traffic situations whom a self-driving car should save.

At first, the activity felt like a simple game, but gradually it revealed the complexity of decision-making when technology is entrusted with human life. Questions such as whether to prioritize passengers over pedestrians, the young over the old, humans over animals, or law-abiding citizens over jaywalkers forced us to reflect on our own moral frameworks.

Screenshot of my activity:



Learning Outcomes:

I realized that ethical choices in AI are never neutral—they always mirror cultural, social, and individual biases.

It highlighted the need for cross-cultural consensus in designing AI, since morality is shaped by diverse traditions.

The exercise made me more aware of the responsibility of digital natives in shaping how machines will interact with humans.

This activity was not only intellectually stimulating but also emotionally challenging. It revealed the human dimension of digital technologies, where philosophy, ethics, and computer science intersect.

2. Pedagogical Shift: From Text to Hypertext 

As part of the session, we explored the shift in pedagogy from traditional text-based learning to hypertext-based digital learning. The provided presentations (1, 2, and 3) gave us a comprehensive overview of how this transition affects teaching and learning in literature and language studies.

Teacher's blog link

Presentation-1: Introduction to Hypertext

The first presentation introduced the concept of hypertext as a networked and non-linear form of information. Unlike printed texts, hypertext allows multiple pathways, interactivity, and integration of multimedia elements. The key takeaway was that reading and meaning-making are no longer linear, but exploratory and dynamic.

Traditional reading: linear, page-by-page, author-driven.Hypertext reading: non-linear, interactive, reader-driven.Significance: Hypertext aligns with the way digital natives process and absorb information in the internet age.

Presentation-2: Implications for Literature & Language.

The second presentation focused on the impact of hypertext on literary studies. Literature, once confined to the printed page, now exists in digital and interactive environments. This changes both how texts are produced and how they are consumed.

Literature becomes multi-modal, blending visuals, sounds, and text.Critical interpretation expands to include digital contexts (e.g., blogs, hyperlinked essays, interactive storytelling).

Students are encouraged to become co-creators of meaning, not just passive readers.This shift demands new methods of teaching literature—teachers must guide students in navigating and critically engaging with texts across platforms.

Presentation-3: Digital Natives & Pedagogical shifts

The third presentation emphasized the role of digital natives—a generation that grows up with the internet and technology. For them, hypertext is not a new phenomenon but a natural environment.

Pedagogy must shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered models.Students learn better through interactive, participatory, and collaborative platforms.

Classrooms need to integrate blogs, online archives, digital storytelling, and multimedia tools to remain relevant.This highlights that teaching in the digital age is not about discarding traditional texts but about expanding them into hypertexts.

              
 

Key Points from the Video:

Definition of Hypertext: Hypertext is explained as more than just a digital text—it is a network of interlinked nodes where the reader decides the path. This redefines authorship and readership.

Reading Patterns of Digital Natives: Unlike earlier generations who read linearly, today’s students explore content in fragments, hyperlinks, and multimedia. This reflects their habits of scrolling, searching, and switching between apps.

Pedagogical Implications:

Teachers need to adapt by using blogs, wikis, digital archives, and interactive tools.

The role of the teacher is less about delivering fixed content and more about guiding exploration.Learning becomes collaborative (peer-to-peer interaction, shared documents, group blogs).

Impact on Literature & Language: Hypertext encourages multi-perspectival interpretations. For example, a literary text can be linked with criticism, adaptations, and multimedia resources instantly, creating a web of meaning.

Conclusion of the Talk: The session emphasizes that while traditional text is not obsolete, hypertext broadens the scope of learning. For digital natives, education must move from authority-driven models to dialogue and discovery-driven models.

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