( CNN ) -- Microsoft 's Windows Phone 8.1 just got an upgrade with the voice of Cortana . If you 're an avid video game player , you 're probably thrilled . Cortana is a character in the popular Halo video games series . She 's sexy and smart and tries to save the world . So how does Microsoft 's Cortana compare with Apple 's Siri ? We 'll find out . But here 's the interesting question : Why are Cortana , Siri , and basically all `` virtual assistants '' female ? Sure , there 's the biological factor , i.e. , our time in the womb predisposes us to prefer the sound of a woman 's voice . And then -- as CNN 's Brandon Griggs pointed out -- there 's also tradition . Ever since World War II , automated navigation systems in airplanes have used female voices , which stand out in the male-dominated cockpit . And let 's not forget straight-up sexism , whose logic goes something like this : `` Well , if it 's an assistant , it has to be female , right ? '' All of these reasons certainly contribute to the choice of a female voice for the increasingly popular `` virtual assistant '' feature on smartphones , which understands commands and in some cases talks back . But let 's not discount the influence of a certain AMC television program that has a hypnotic hold on Western culture right now : `` Mad Men . '' Have you noticed that trendy clothes are tight-fitting right now ? And ties are skinny ? And fedoras are everywhere ? Heck , even Lucky Strike 's sales are booming . It 's the Mad Men factor , and this phenomenon also makes everyone want a female assistant . But in 2014 , assistants are about as rare as those IBM Selectric typewriters from Season 1 , so we 'll take the next best thing : the virtual version . Most of us have to make our own coffee , hang up our own coat , and set our own appointments . But by golly , having Cortana or Siri call someone for you makes you feel like a regular Don Draper , if just for a moment . Roger Sterling sure is a selfish rake , but would n't it be great if you had an assistant to do your shopping for you -- just like Roger ? With Siri and Cortana , you at least have someone make your shopping list . Of course , we draw the line at boss-secretary romance . Let 's not get carried away . A person and a computer program ? No one would ever be weird enough to fantasize about falling in love with an operating system . Unless you count the $ 481 million in ticket sales from `` Her , '' a movie with this exact premise . But perhaps I have n't convinced you . For example , you might be wondering how there can be a distinction between the sexist reason for wanting a female assistant and the Mad Men reason . Is n't it the same thing ? No . From fashion to furniture , everyone wants a little Mad Men in their life . And whatever form `` a little Mad Men '' takes , it must resemble the show as closely as possible . Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner takes pride in the deadly accuracy of his period details , and so do we , when we recreate aspects of the show in our lives . If all the assistants on Mad Men were men , everyone would want a male virtual assistant right now . Also , let 's not forget that everyone roots for the female characters Joan Holloway and Peggy Olson , both of whom begin the show as assistants . They both break through the glass ceiling ( in very different ways ) on their way to the top of the advertising hierarchy . We want them to succeed , and we agonize over the injustices heaped upon them in their ascent . Whatever our gender , we also want female assistants , just like Joan and Peggy eventually have when they become powerful . There 's a twist to this story . Cortana , the artificially intelligent character from Halo , was based on the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti . Some scholars believe Nefertiti ruled Egypt after the death of her husband , Pharaoh Akhenaten . Viewed from this perspective , Cortana represents not only a helpful , soothing voice , but also an eventual ruler . For those who are predicting world domination by robots , the choice of Cortana is certainly something to ponder .
Microsoft 's Windows Phone 8.1 just got an upgrade with the voice of Cortana . David Wheeler : Why are Cortana , Siri , and basically all `` virtual assistants '' female ? He says there 's biological factor , tradition , sexism , and the popularity of Mad Men . Wheeler : Having a virtual assistant like Cortana makes us feel like Don Draper .