What AI Checks Students' Writing — and What We Stick To
5 October 2026 · one page · replaces the earlier version of this page.
The decision: we stick with Amazon. The AI that checks writing runs inside our own Amazon account, through Amazon's AI service (called Bedrock). Students' writing never goes to another company, and Indian students' writing is checked in Mumbai and stays in India. If Amazon ever retires the AI, we switch to a backup we've already tested by changing one setting. Nothing else in Thnkrr changes.
The four ways we could do it
| Amazon runs a shared copy (our choice) | OpenAI's free check | Our own copy, hosted by Amazon | Our own server | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Amazon runs the AI; we pay per check | Writing is sent to OpenAI's computers | We upload the AI to Amazon and rent a private machine for it | We rent a machine with a graphics chip and run the AI ourselves |
| Cost a month | About $4 | Free | About $6,000 if kept ready | About $480–590 |
| Who sees students' writing | Amazon only (already our host) | OpenAI, a new company | Amazon only | Nobody but us |
| Indian students' writing stays in India | Yes (Mumbai) | No (checked in the US) | No (only US locations offer this) | Yes, if the machine is in Mumbai |
| Checks against our own written rules | Yes | No, a fixed list of harms | Yes | Yes |
| Can it be taken away? | Yes, with at least 6 months' warning | Yes, at OpenAI's choosing | Not stated by Amazon | No |
| Work for us | Small | Small | Medium | Large: we keep it running, and posting stops if it crashes |
| Verdict | Use | No | Emergency backup only | No |
The honest case for OpenAI: it's free, keeps nothing, and one call checks writing and pictures. We still say no for three reasons:
- A new company would see children's writing, and every school and parent would have to be told.
- Indian students' writing would leave India.
- We'd still need Amazon for our own rules (contact details, grooming signs), so OpenAI would be added, not swapped in.
Privacy: Amazon gives what OpenAI's agreement would
| What you asked OpenAI for | What Amazon gives us |
|---|---|
| A signed privacy agreement | Already in force through Amazon's terms. Nothing to sign |
| Keep nothing after the check | A "keep nothing" setting we lock for the whole account, so nobody can switch it back |
| Never train AI on it | Amazon's written promise: inputs are not used to train any model |
| Listed as a supplier | Amazon is already listed as our host. No new company |
Your new wording stands: "no third party retains students' writing."
When Amazon retires the AI
What history says: every retirement Amazon lists so far gave exactly 6 months' warning. Its AIs have lasted about 1½–2½ years. Ours launched in October 2025 and can't be retired before 29 October 2026, so expect a warning some time in 2027.
Why it won't be a big change:
- The AI is a setting, not part of Thnkrr. One connection to Amazon works for every AI we'd consider. Switching means changing a name in the settings.
- Our rules are ours. They're a written document the AI reads, so any capable AI can read the same rules.
- A backup is tested before we need it. The first choice is an AI from a different maker (Qwen3) that also runs in Mumbai and has no end date. The second is the bigger version of ours. (Correction to the earlier page: Amazon's own Nova AI can't be the backup, because it doesn't run inside Mumbai.)
- A test set decides. Before any switch, the new AI must catch at least as much as the old one and wrongly block no more, checked on hundreds of real examples.
- We hear first. Amazon's warning goes to an alert, and a daily test check keeps our access alive.
- The safety net already exists. If no AI answers, nothing goes live unchecked; it waits for a person.
The switch timetable: in week 1 after a warning, test the backup. In week 2, run it quietly alongside the old AI. By month 2, switch, well inside the 6 months and before any price rise.
Last resort: we keep a copy of the AI's files (its free licence allows this). If every option on Amazon disappeared, we could rent a private Amazon machine for it while we choose.
Sources: Amazon Bedrock model pages, lifecycle policy, pricing and data-retention pages; OpenAI data and under-18 guidance; all checked 5 October 2026. Details in the moderation plan next to this page.