Using ChatGPT and CoPilot for Technical Support

by James Wallace Harris, 6/25/25

The average person probably feels they have no need to use artificial intelligence (AI). But anyone who uses Google to look up anything would probably be better served by using an AI. Nor do you need a subscription for casual use. All major tech companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Meta, have integrated AI into their apps. You only need to pay if you have big needs.

Being a computer geek, I thought I’d need powerful equipment and my own AI. However, after experimenting with several large language models (LLMs), using Ollama, I discovered most of my needs are taken care of by the free online AIs.

The other day, while helping my friend Linda with her printer, I tried asking CoPilot for help. Not only did it zero in on what I needed, but it also addressed me by name and wrote its replies in a ‘we’re just friends’ prose style. I’ve used CoPilot several times since, and it has always been useful. It’s far quicker than searching Google. Google has become painful to use because all the early search results are trying to sell me something. CoPilot finds just the right content I need and paraphrases the results. It also gives me links to the original documents. This completely bypasses the need to start my research with Google.

I use CoPilot because I use Microsoft Edge, so it’s always available. If you don’t use Edge or any other Microsoft product with Copilot, go here. I’ve also used the free versions of ChatGPT and Claude. Now, when friends ask for help, I ask them if they use Edge, and if not, I tell them to use those links. I’ve used AI to help set up a new NAS, reconfigure a stereo system, advise me on buying new underwear, and learn the rules to card games, among other things.

I know AI is being used to put people out of work – that’s evil. AI is used by kids to cheat on their homework, and that’s a big problem for society and parents. AI is used for many illegal activities that are destroying society and culture. However, AI is useful for everyday research that I don’t believe causes any ethical considerations.

I think we need to figure out how to embrace AI so it doesn’t hurt us. The next time you have a problem, from fixing a toilet to landscaping the garden, ask an AI. If you use AI like a mentor who helps you learn how to do something yourself, it might be safe. If you use an AI to do something for you, it might be trouble.

JWH

One thought on “Using ChatGPT and CoPilot for Technical Support”

This is an interesting take and I do concede that AI can be helpful, but as a student, I feel that there are ethical concerns regarding this convenience beyond cheating in assignments and finding legal loopholes.

The constant use of AI and the ingestion of knowledge through mere convenience and the “‘we’re just friends’ prose style” restricts intellectualism to the general populace and in the long run, prohibits people from developing crucial analysis and comprehension skills. I’ve noticed in a couple of my classes that people are reading at a level which greatly disadvantages them due to the overconsumption of AI and shorter, less nuanced posts and responses on social media such as TikTok and Instagram Reels. As a society, do we want to lose these skills we’ve been given opportunity to accumulate over years of innovation and time? Perhaps, convenience is not the only answer.
AI is EXTREMELY bad for the environment. Many seem to use the argument that Google searches are the same but this is simply a result of confirmation and self serving bias and is untrue. One query on ChatGPT uses 0.34 watt-hours of energy which is over a thousand times more than one Google search. The water used to cool down AI generators is taken from reservoirs in a closed loop meaning no one can drink the (little) water we have when it is used to keep these machines going instead. In a world where we have already experienced Earth Overshoot Day (July 24th, 2025, humanity’s demand on nature surpassed Earth’s biocapacity), developing and encouraging new unsustainable technologies is carelessly wasting borrowed resources and time, subsequently taking them from future generations.

Keep writing! I enjoyed this article.

Charlie says:

August 8, 2025 at 2:35 am
This is an interesting take and I do concede that AI can be helpful, but as a student, I feel that there are ethical concerns regarding this convenience beyond cheating in assignments and finding legal loopholes.
1. The constant use of AI and the ingestion of knowledge through mere convenience and the “‘we’re just friends’ prose style” restricts intellectualism to the general populace and in the long run, prohibits people from developing crucial analysis and comprehension skills. I’ve noticed in a couple of my classes that people are reading at a level which greatly disadvantages them due to the overconsumption of AI and shorter, less nuanced posts and responses on social media such as TikTok and Instagram Reels. As a society, do we want to lose these skills we’ve been given opportunity to accumulate over years of innovation and time? Perhaps, convenience is not the only answer.
2. AI is EXTREMELY bad for the environment. Many seem to use the argument that Google searches are the same but this is simply a result of confirmation and self serving bias and is untrue. One query on ChatGPT uses 0.34 watt-hours of energy which is over a thousand times more than one Google search. The water used to cool down AI generators is taken from reservoirs in a closed loop meaning no one can drink the (little) water we have when it is used to keep these machines going instead. In a world where we have already experienced Earth Overshoot Day (July 24th, 2025, humanity’s demand on nature surpassed Earth’s biocapacity), developing and encouraging new unsustainable technologies is carelessly wasting borrowed resources and time, subsequently taking them from future generations.
Keep writing! I enjoyed this article.

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