Moral Machine Activity & Pedagogical Shift in Literature

The Computational Critic: Analyzing Literature in the Age of Algorithms and AI

This blog reflects on my learning journey during the FDP, "A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Language & Literature to the Digital Natives," guided by Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. The program offered profound insights into how digital technology is reshaping the teaching, study, and interpretation of language and literature. Beyond exploring core concepts like hypertext, digital pedagogy, Generative Literature, Digital Humanities, and digital assessment, I also participated in the MIT Moral Machine activity. This specific exercise prompted deep reflection on the complex ethical dilemmas surrounding Artificial Intelligence and autonomous decision-making. Ultimately, these hands-on digital activities bridged the gap between reading theoretical concepts and engaging in active, critical learning. In this post, I synthesize these experiences and reflect on how they have evolved my perspective as a student of English literature navigating the digital age.

Here is the Mind Map of this blog: Click Here

To provide a clear overview, the infographic below maps out the entire process covered in this blog:

Part 1: Moral Machine Activity

1.1 What is the MIT Moral Machine?

The MIT Moral Machine is an interactive online platform designed to explore the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. It presents users with a series of complex "trolley-problem" scenarios. In these scenarios, an autonomous self-driving car experiences brake failure, and the user is forced to make difficult, life-or-death choices about who the car should save and who it should sacrifice.

1.2 The Task Assigned by Sir

To truly understand the intersection of technology and ethics, Dr. Dilip Barad Sir assigned us a practical exercise using this platform. The task was to go to the Moral Machine website, click "Start Judging," and go through all the scenarios to make ethical choices for the self-driving car. Afterward, we had to save our final results page as a PDF, upload it to our Google Drive, and share the link along with our personal reflection.

Here is the link of Pdf which shows process of this activity: Click Here

1.3 How I Completed the Task

I navigated to the platform and entered the "Judge" mode. I went through the sequence of scenarios, making those split-second ethical decisions on behalf of the car. After I finished, the platform generated a comprehensive summary analyzing my moral biases such as whether I prioritized saving passengers over pedestrians, younger people over older people, or a larger number of lives over individuals. I then saved this final results page as a Screenshots.

My Results:

 [Click here to view my full Moral Machine results PDF] 

1.4 Learning Outcomes and Personal Reflection

Doing the Moral Machine activity was a really eye-opening experience. In literature classes, we usually read about characters facing tough moral dilemmas, and we have time to think and judge their actions. But here, I had to make split-second choices myself for a self-driving car.

My main learning outcomes from this activity centered on the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. I saw firsthand that AI is not just neutral technology. When we build autonomous machines, we are forced to teach them human morals and biases. It showed me exactly how difficult it is to program a clear "right" or "wrong" into a computer, especially in life-or-death situations. Ultimately, this activity encouraged me to think critically about how human values are actively shaping the technologies of our future.

Part 2: Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext

When canonical literature meets the digital age, the way we read and interpret narratives must fundamentally evolve. As Dr. Barad's presentations highlight, the transition from text to hypertext is not merely a change of medium, but a necessary pedagogical shift to effectively engage the minds of today’s digital natives.

Evolution of Digital Textuality: A Three-Part Study on Hypertext Pedagogy

2.1 - Transforming Literary Reading and Education in the Digital Age

A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Language & Literature to the Digital Natives

Sir Dilip Barad’s presentation focuses on the changing nature of teaching language and literature in the digital age. The central argument is that traditional text-based teaching needs to be expanded through hypertext, digital media, and innovative pedagogical practices. Hypertext connects text with images, sound, videos, and other related information through direct links, making learning more interactive and exploratory. 

Sir further explains the movement from text to hypertext through the idea of decentering. In digital and electronic media, the traditional concept of a fixed subject, reader, and author becomes less stable. Readers are no longer merely passive receivers; they can explore, connect, interpret, and participate in the creation of meaning.

The presentation then introduces Digital Pedagogy, where the conventional roles of teacher and learner are transformed. Sir emphasizes the need to develop new pedagogical models such as Blended Learning, Flipped Classroom, and Mixed Mode Teaching. These approaches combine traditional classroom interaction with digital resources and encourage greater student participation. 

Sir also presents several digital tools and techniques that can support teaching and learning, including online assessment, synchronous and asynchronous learning, digital portfolios, CMS/LMS, glass boards, light boards, and OBS. These technologies provide teachers with different ways to present and explain academic content beyond the limitations of the traditional classroom. 

The practical examples in the presentation demonstrate how digital pedagogy can be applied to different areas of language and literature. Sir shows the use of a glass/light board for teaching business letters, OBS for teaching plays and poetry, and moving visuals for making literary learning more engaging. 

One significant example is the “Deconstructive Reading of Sonnet 18”, presented through TED-Ed. This demonstrates that digital technology can also be used for critical and theoretical approaches to literature, allowing students to engage with a literary text through an interactive digital lesson. 

Finally, Sir discusses Mixed Mode Teaching, in which face-to-face classroom teaching is combined with online participation. The approach creates a more flexible learning environment and encourages students to become active participants in the learning process rather than simply listeners. 

Overall Understanding

The presentation highlights that digital technology should not replace literature or the teacher; rather, it should enrich the process of teaching and learning. The shift from Text → Hypertext → Digital Pedagogy → Active Learning encourages students to explore, question, connect, interpret, and participate. Thus, the major concern of Sir’s presentation is to make language and literature teaching more interactive, innovative, student-centred, and relevant to digital-native learners.

2.2 - The Transformation of Language, Linguistics, and Meaning in Digital Texts

Sir Dilip Barad’s presentation focuses on the challenges of teaching language and literature through digital and online modes and demonstrates how technology can provide practical solutions.

One important challenge in language teaching is pronunciation, stress, and modulation. Students may sometimes find it difficult to understand the correct pronunciation or linguistic units through online teaching. Sir suggests digital tools such as Chrome Live Caption to make spoken language clearer and more accessible. 

The presentation also introduces tools for online note-taking and transcription, such as Meet Transcript, Tactiq, and Scribbl, which can help learners record, transcribe, and review online lectures. Google Docs’ Voice Typing is another example of using digital technology to support learning. 

Sir then discusses the challenge of engaging learners in online teaching. He presents Google Drive and its collaborative tools as a way to make online learning more participatory rather than simply lecture-based. He also demonstrates the use of glass-board/learning glass for engaging students during remote teaching. 

A major concern of the presentation is Digital Pedagogy and the teaching of literature. Sir raises the question of whether poetry, prose, novels, drama, and short stories can be taught effectively online while preserving their essential literary experience. 

He also points out the difficulties involved in teaching English literature as foreign literature, including differences in culture, social codes, religion, mythology, collective unconsciousness, geography, and historical distance. These differences can create challenges in helping students understand literary texts in their original context. 

Sir then demonstrates how hypertext and visual resources can help overcome such difficulties. Through a poem containing references to Hawthorn and Susan Noon’s Blue Pitcher, he shows how images and Google Image Search can help students understand difficult literary images and references. 

Finally, Sir presents Google Arts & Culture as a valuable resource for teaching literature. His example of the myth of Icarus and Daedalus shows how hypertext can connect literature with artworks and multiple resources. The learning outcomes include understanding the myth, recognizing mythical technique, and applying the theoretical concept of “decentering the centre” through deconstructive reading. 

Overall Understanding

The central message of Sir’s presentation is that digital technology can help teachers overcome the challenges of online language and literature teaching. Tools such as captions, transcription, voice typing, collaborative platforms, glass boards, image searches, and Google Arts & Culture can make learning clearer, more collaborative, visual, and interactive. Hypertext particularly helps learners connect a literary text with its cultural, visual, historical, and theoretical contexts.

2.3 - The Transition from Creative to Generative Literature and Algorithmic Authorship

From Creative Literature to Generative Literature

Sir Dilip Barad’s presentation introduces the shift from traditional creative literature to generative literature, where computers and algorithms can produce continuously changing literary texts. Generative literature is presented as a specific form of digital literature that challenges some traditional concepts of authorship, text, and reading. 

The presentation then connects this development with Digital Humanities, particularly its role in English departments. Sir raises the question of whether computers can participate in literary creation and demonstrates this through examples such as computer-generated poetry and the activity of identifying whether a poem was written by a human or a computer. 

Sir introduces Poem Generator Machines, which use dictionaries, rules, and algorithms to generate different forms of poetry. This shows how computers can produce literary texts according to programmed structures. 

The presentation also introduces Digital Humanities research methods, such as Matthew Jockers’ macroanalysis and the study of large collections of texts. It further discusses culturomics, where large amounts of digital data are used to study patterns in human culture. 

Another important topic is Corpus Linguistics in Context. Through the CLiC Dickens project, computer-assisted corpus methods can be used to study literary texts and examine how readers may perceive fictional characters. The concept of KWIC (Key Word in Context) is also introduced as a common format for examining words within their textual contexts. 

Sir then discusses digital portfolios, where students can hyperlink their classroom work on personal websites. This encourages students not only to produce academic work but also to curate, archive, expand, and share their learning digitally. 

The presentation emphasizes that modern education should develop both subject knowledge and digital literacy. Students should learn how to create their own digital presence and effectively share their learning with the wider world. 

Overall Understanding

The main message of Sir’s presentation is that the Digital Era creates new possibilities for literature, literary studies, and pedagogy. The movement from Text → Hypertext → Generative Literature → Digital Humanities opens new ways of creating, analysing, teaching, and sharing literature. Sir encourages learners to explore these possibilities and adapt literary studies to the changing digital environment. 

Video Lecture: From Text to Hypertext in Digital Pedagogy

Overall Learning Outcome Through this Visual:

Here is the Slide Deck of this blog:

Here is the Video Overview of this blog:

REFERENCES : 

• A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext | Language & Literature to the Digital Natives." YouTube, uploaded by DoE-MKBU, 15 Sept. 2021, https://youtu.be/c1H-ejKTGQM.

• Barad, Dilip. “Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Language & Literature to the Digital Natives.” Dilip Barad | Teacher Blog, 18 Sept. 2021, https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2021/09/pedagogical-shift-from-text-to.html.

• Moral Machine. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, www.moralmachine.net. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.