Do you think about AI development and artificial intelligence programming? It might be the best idea to come up during this day and age.

But before starting your artificial intelligence development journey, you must learn the basics of different programming languages.

If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to take a crack in this world of artificial intelligence, below is the list of the best programming languages for AI.

The Best Programming Languages to Learn for AI

AI programmers must be happy because there is an abundance of programming languages readily available to learn.

Below is the list of the ten best programming languages for AI. Check it out!

1.) Python

Python is one of the league leaders in the AI development department.

It is one of the most reliable programming languages because of its pre-designed libraries that are useful in AI development.

It converts user code into machine-readable code, making programmers’ life easy.

With tools like NTLK and SpaCy, it is ahead of the competition in natural language, as they also focused on this department to achieve an amazing user experience.

Most artificial intelligence programmers prefer using Python over any other AI programming language because of its simple syntax, data science, scientific computing, desktop apps, and more.

PROS

• The best option for natural language processing and AI programming

• It has a very large community of AI developers

• Deep neural networks and vast machine learning libraries

• Often used general-purpose programming language for frontend and backend functions

CONS

• Security issues

2.) Java

Java is the native language for android app development. It has been widely used by most mobile app developers for years and remains one of the most stable programming languages in mobile app development languages.

It is a good programming language and has been widely used for many AI projects.

Java is the best programming language because it was used for making FaceApp and Google Assistant, which have become one of the most popular applications today that use artificial intelligence.

PROS

• Widely used programming language for AI

• It has many features, including browser tools, a dynamic interface, and more

• Lots of machine learning libraries for deep learning

• All these features make AI development easy

• It uses an object-oriented programming language

• Functional programming to create different programs that use artificial intelligence

CONS

• Very steep learning curve most programmers don’t want to deal with

3.) JavaScript

JavaScript is almost as similar to Java. The only advantage of this language is it’s more versatile and often used for dynamic and secure websites as it’s considered a scripting language.

It can easily manage frontend and backend functions, from multimedia to buttons and data storage.

Another advantage of this programming language is that an extensive community supports it.

If you want to know some of its machine-learning libraries, check out Underscore, jQuery, and React.js to learn more.

PROS

• One of the most popular programming languages used for web development.

• Cross-platform mobile app development

• Its AI capabilities allow it to interact with other source codes, such as CSS and HTML

• Great for frontend and backend web development

• Widely used in almost all mobile apps

CONS

• It is more challenging to learn this programming language than other programming languages, such as Python.

4.) Scala

Scala followed the concept of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and provided a better solution for intelligent programming software.

In addition, it is also compatible with other programming languages, such as Java and JavaScript.

The powerful features that made this programming language for AI popular among developers are its pattern matching, flexible interface, and browser tools.

PROS

• High-performance and safe software development

• Easy to develop AI applications and integrates well with Java

• Flexible interfaces for AI development

• One of the best languages for AI development

• Extensive machine-learning libraries

CONS

• Challenging for beginners to learn this programming language

5.) Lisp

Lisp might be the oldest programming language on our list. The inventor of LISP, John McCarthy, coined the term artificial intelligence.

Despite its age catching up, it still has several features that entice AI programmers to use this language.

Its popular features include rapid prototyping abilities, mandatory garbage collection, dynamic object creation, and many more.

It is not considered the go-to programming language in recent years, and it’s thanks to LISP as it laid the foundation for AI development.

PROS

• It is known for its fast coding process and rapid prototyping and is highly adaptable to any projects

• Tremendous community support

• One of the oldest AI programming languages used

CONS

• Not a lot of people use this due to its expensive libraries and a complex syntax

6.) R

R is becoming one of the more popular programming languages worldwide as it caters to experts and beginners alike.

While some may consider R not the best programming language for AI, it is impressive at complex calculations. Statisticians solely created it to crush massive data sets and perform extensive computations.

AI development often involves extensive data analysis, so R is the preferred choice.

It is one of the strongest programming languages for AI and is used in different fields such as medicine, health, sociology, finance, and many more.

PROS

• One of the most popular statistical programming languages

• Integrates well with other languages for AI development

• Known for its visual interface, powerful graphics, and support across different platforms

CONS

• It is not well-supported due to its small community

• Programmers often have issues with its speed

7.) C++ 

Another programming language that is tried and tested in AI development is C++. It is a low-level programming language that is amongst the oldest.

Although some programmers consider it the simplest programming language, its long history in the world of artificial intelligence and its low-level programming capabilities are more than enough to do simple AI models.

PROS

• Considered the fastest programming language in the world

• It is known for its efficiency and quickness

• Most game developers use this language

• Widely used programming languages for AI

CONS

• It can take a lot of work to learn

• It doesn’t have a lot of quality-of-life features

8.) Julia

Unlike other programming languages on our list, Julia is relatively new. While the community is relatively small, it always ranked as the preferred language for artificial intelligence.

Its impressive features are its dynamic interface, debugging, memory management, and metaprogramming.

It also supports C functions and parallel and distributed computing.

Regarding AI development, Julia has all the tools to make life easier, such as packages for probabilistic programming, premade models, algorithm help, and many more.

PROS

• Great for any machine learning projects

• High performance

• It was primarily developed for scientific computing, making it popular among mathematicians, programmers, and data scientists.

CONS

• It has a relatively small community and followers

• Not the most popular language for web development

9.) Haskell

Haskell’s efficient memory management is one of the reasons why it is considered one of the safest AI programming languages.

This AI programming language is more popular in educational research and is useful for pattern matching, Lambda Expressions, and type classes, to name a few.

The only problem programmers have to deal with Haskell is it is often a hit or miss.

There are circumstances wherein it can provide a very smart process, whereas there are also instances it results in more lagging.

It is one of the reasons why most programmers nicknamed it a lazy programming language because it only evaluates codes as needed.

PROS

• Infinite data structures

• Known for its abstraction capabilities when dealing with errors

• It can reuse code

• Its pure functionality makes it one of the most popular languages to learn

CONS

• It can be not easy to learn this programming language

10. Prolog

Instead of using sequence codes that may be hard for programmers for artificial intelligence development, Prolog uses a more simplistic approach.

It uses a set of basic facts, queries, goals, and rules for a more logical way of programming things.

Many people use Prolog for its simple approach; however, it can be challenging for programmers to use this for AI programming.

PROS

• It is mainly used for AI projects involving computational linguistics

• One of the best languages used for problem-solving for AI applications

• Uses logic programming to provide better solutions

• Great for projects that require symbolic reasoning and natural language processing

CONS

• Not the best AI programming language for programmers because it’s challenging to learn

Best Upstart Alternative Programming Languages and Frameworks for AI

If some of the AI programming languages for AI development above are not the best choice for you, then you might find some better alternatives.

1.) Native iOS Swift

Native iOS Swift is relatively new to the world of programming. It was developed by Apple and is used across all Apple platforms, such as iOS, macOS, tvOS app, and watchOS.

2.) Native Android Kotlin

If you’re making Android apps, Native Android Kotlin is one of the best languages for AI development. Its codes are relatively easy, and a beginner is more than happy to learn this.

3.) Flutter

Flutter is intended for mobile development, and while they are relatively new to this environment, more and more programmers and developers lean towards this language.

4.) React Native

React Native might be new to the world of mobile development. Still, its safe, affordable, and user-experience flexibility makes it a better choice amongst mobile app developers.

5.) React.js

For single-page applications, React.js is more than enough to suit users. It uses the Javascript library, which allows programs to run smoothly on different platforms.

6.) Node.js

Node.js is a convenient choice for users who prefer using less engineering. It is the preferred choice for creating scalable but fast web applications and is today’s most commonly used framework for web technology.

7.) Nest.js

Nest.js is a framework often used as a framework for making server-side applications. It is noted for being a great framework for making scalable web applications that use the progressive JavaScript environment.

8.) Laravel

If you want to understand a robust and reliable framework that uses PHP scripting language, Laravel is your go-to solution.

It uses its abundance of features to simplify a programmer’s life by eliminating the painstaking tasks used in web projects.

9.) ElasticSearch

Elasticsearch was mainly built within the Apache Lucene environment and developed in Java. It is great for analyzing, storing, and searching big volumes of data.

Final Words

AI programming has been widely accessible to the public, and several libraries and learning materials paved the way for people to learn this new subject.

Several programming languages, such as Python and Java, have become one of the easiest ways to enter the world of programming.

They are easy to learn and are one of the best programming languages for AI development. We hope you can use these best languages to start your AI project immediately!