Steve lived in a small, quiet town in England. In his house his favourite room was his small study. In this room, Steve had a comfortable chair, a good microphone, and his computer. Steve was not a young man, but he loved technology when it helped people. And Steve loved helping people learn English.
Every morning, Steve made a cup of coffee, sat in his comfortable chair, and looked on his computer at one of the various AI’s to write him a suitable short story. He chose stories that were interesting but not too difficult for people learning English. His goal was to help them improve their listening and reading skills.
After choosing a story, Steve practised reading it aloud. He spoke clearly and slowly, using his pleasant British accent. Then, he recorded himself reading the story. He was careful to make sure the sound was good. After recording, he listened back. If it sounded good, he saved the audio file.
Next, Steve saved the text of the story he had just read. This was important. Learners could listen to his recording and read the text at the same time. This helped them connect the sounds of English words with the way they are written. He would then make a very basic video with a picture from AI that went with the story and a couple of graphics and background music track, and then upload it to YouTube. The audio file went to Spotify.
Finally, Steve linked to the YouTube video and uploaded the audio file and the text to his blog at http://www.steveuk.blog . He gave each story a number and a title. He also added a level, like (Beg) for Beginner, (Int) for Intermediate, or (Adv) for Advanced. This helped learners choose stories that were right for them.
Steve loved this work. He received emails and comments from learners all over the world. They said his recordings helped them a lot. This made Steve very happy.
To help more learners find his Youtube, Spotify channels and his Blog, Steve used a popular chat website called Free4Talk.com. Many English learners used this site to talk to each other and find learning resources. Steve would post a message when he uploaded a new story. He usually wrote something like: “Hello everyone! New story is ready for you. Short Story number [Number] – Title. You can find it here: [Link to his Blog].”
This worked well for a long time. But recently, the chat website Free4Talk.com started using a new Artificial Intelligence – an AI – to check all messages before they were posted. This AI was supposed to stop bad or inappropriate messages. Steve thought this was a good idea in general. Safety online is important.
However, Steve soon discovered a problem. The AI was… too sensitive. It was incredibly strict, especially about certain words or combinations of words in his titles.
One Sunday, Steve finished recording a lovely story about a man called Steve and his very clever dog, Bobby. The story was told from the dog’s point of view – how the dog saw the world. Steve thought it was a fun way for learners to practise understanding perspective. He titled it: “Short Story 465 – Steve & Bobby (From Her Perspective) (INT)”. Bobby the dog was female in the story, so it was ‘Her Perspective’. (INT) meant it was for Intermediate learners.
He went to the chat website to share the link. He typed his usual friendly message and included the title. He clicked ‘Post’.
A message appeared immediately: “Violated Topic Rules: No sexual related [MEDIUM], No 18+ content [MEDIUM], No contains the forms of word: sex [MEDIUM]
———–NOTE————
You will be BANNED if you continue to violate the topic rules.
———–HINT————
Adding more context to your topic will help the AI to filter better.”
Steve stared at the screen. “What? Violated Topic Rules? It’s about a man and his dog!” He read the title again: “Short Story 465 – Steve & Bobby (From Her Perspective) (INT)”.
He thought hard. What could the AI possibly find wrong? Did it think ‘Steve & Bobby’ sounded like a romantic couple? Maybe. Did it see the word ‘Her’ near ‘Bobby’ and get confused? Did it think ‘Perspective’ was a bad word? It seemed ridiculous. The AI had no common sense. It just saw words and patterns, and its rules were clearly too strict and silly.
Steve felt frustrated. “Oh, honestly!” he said to his empty study. “It’s a story for learning English, you silly machine! It’s about a dog!”
He tried changing the title in his post. He wrote just: “New Story 465 – Steve & Bobby (INT)”. He clicked ‘Post’.
This time, it worked. The message appeared on the chat website. Steve sighed with relief, but also annoyance. He shouldn’t have to change his clear titles just because an AI couldn’t understand context. His titles helped learners know exactly what the story was.
It became a guessing game for Steve. Which innocent words would the AI dislike today? It made Steve feel sad. He wanted to give learners clear information. This over-sensitive AI was making his job harder. It was intolerant of perfectly normal words and ideas.
But Steve didn’t stop. He knew his work was important. He knew learners found his website and enjoyed the stories, even if sharing the link was sometimes difficult. He just hoped that maybe, one day, the people who made and set-up the AI would teach it a little bit of common sense. Until then, Steve would keep recording, keep uploading, and keep trying to find ways to share his stories with the world, one cup of coffee and one very carefully titled story at a time.
Vocabulary Notes
Upload (verb)
Meaning: To copy or move data (like a file, photo, or audio) from your personal computer or device to a larger computer system or the internet (like a website). It’s the opposite of download (moving data from the internet to your computer).
Example: “Finally, Steve linked to the YouTube video and uploaded the audio file and the text to his blog at http://www.steveuk.blog”
Similar words/ideas: Post (online), share (online), transfer (to a server).
Sensitive (adjective)
Meaning: Reacting quickly or strongly to something. In the story, the AI is too sensitive, meaning it reacts negatively to words that are actually okay. It can also mean easily upset or understanding other people’s feelings.
Example: “However, Steve soon discovered a problem. The AI was… too sensitive.” / “This over-sensitive AI was making his job harder.”
Similar words/ideas: Reactive, easily upset, strict (in this context), touchy.
Inappropriate (adjective)
Meaning: Not suitable or right for a particular situation; not proper or acceptable according to rules or social standards.
Example: “Violated Topic Rules: No sexual related [MEDIUM], No 18+ content [MEDIUM], No contains the forms of word: sex [MEDIUM]”
Similar words/ideas: Unsuitable, wrong, unacceptable, improper.
Perspective (noun)
Meaning: A particular way of thinking about something; a point of view. Whose eyes are we seeing the story through?
Example: “The story was told from the dog’s point of view – how the dog saw the world. Steve thought it was a fun way for learners to practise understanding perspective.” / “He titled it: ‘Short Story 465 – Steve & Bobby (From Her Perspective) (INT)’.”
Similar words/ideas: Point of view, viewpoint, angle, way of looking at things.
Frustrated (adjective)
Meaning: Feeling annoyed, upset, or impatient because you cannot do or achieve something you want.
Example: “Steve felt frustrated. ‘Oh, honestly!’ he said to his empty study.”
Similar words/ideas: Annoyed, irritated, discouraged, exasperated (a stronger feeling of frustration).
Context (noun)
Meaning: The situation, events, or information that are related to something and that help you understand it fully. The AI didn’t understand the context of the words in the titles.
Example: “He shouldn’t have to change his clear titles just because an AI couldn’t understand context.”
Similar words/ideas: Situation, background, circumstances, setting.
Intolerant (adjective)
Meaning: Not willing to accept feelings, habits, beliefs, or words that are different from your own or what you think is acceptable. The AI was intolerant of certain words, even in innocent situations.
Example: “It [the AI] was intolerant of perfectly normal words and ideas.” (Also mentioned in the user’s request).
Similar words/ideas: Strict, inflexible, narrow-minded, unaccepting.
Guidelines (noun)
Meaning: Rules or instructions that tell you how something should be done or what is acceptable. Websites often have ‘community guidelines’.
Example: “This content may violate community guidelines regarding sensitive or inappropriate topics.”
Similar words/ideas: Rules, instructions, recommendations, principles.
Story written by SteveUK & Gemini AI
Image created by Desinger AI with a little help from me
Hello this is Steve. If you enjoyed the story, please would you take the time to leave a meaningful comment and click on the like icon. If you want to know when the next story has been uploaded, please click on the notify bell icon to be notified. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to my channel and tell your English learning friends, so they can benefit too. Thank you.
CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads
Reading Short Stories/Content for English Learners 
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