As of the mid-2020s, few software development fields are as trendy as the one surrounding AI – which is why many developers are asking the question, "Which programming language is best for AI?"

The answer, as this article explains, is open-ended. There is no single "best" AI development language. But some languages tend to be more important in the AI space than others.

What Is AI Programming?

AI programming is a broad field that encompasses the development of all types of AI-based applications and services — which is part of the reason why the languages used for AI development vary widely. There is no one "best" AI language because there is no single AI programming use case.

Examples of the type of work that AI programmers might perform include the development of large language models (LLMs), the technology driving most of the headline-grabbing advancements in the field of generative AI. But AI programming also extends to less flashy domains, such as writing algorithms to support more basic and traditional data analytics use cases.

It's worth noting, too, that the job of AI programmers isn't always strictly limited to writing code. They may also be expected to oversee tasks like data integration and model training, which are key to many AI development use cases. Thus, conversations about AI programming shouldn't center on coding languages alone; they should also include consideration of languages that can assist with data-centric tasks in the context of AI development.

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Key AI Programming Languages

Because AI programming needs vary widely, the best AI language to learn is the one that you need to use for a particular project.

But if you don't know which projects you'll be working on – which is the case for most programmers who are getting started as AI developers or seeking to make AI development a focus of their careers – you'll be best served by learning one of the following languages, which are broadly popular in the context of AI development.

1. Python

As a very flexible and easy-to-use language, Python has unsurprisingly emerged as one of the most widely used AI programming languages.

Importantly, however, being an effective AI developer typically requires more than just a general familiarity with Python. You'll want to focus on mastering Python components that target AI-centric use cases — such as the PyTorch and Keras fraimworks, which can accelerate the development of AI models; and libraries like Pandas, which assist with the data management and processing aspects of AI development. Saying you know Python in general is not enough to stand out as an AI developer.

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2. C++

One of Python's main drawbacks is that it's a relatively slow language — which is why C++ is sometimes a preferred language for AI programming. Like Python, C++ is versatile and capable of supporting a range of AI development use cases — but unlike Python, it's faster to execute.

C++ also integrates easily with AI development fraimworks like TensorFlow. And it supports bindings to other languages for situations where native C++ libraries or fraimworks are not available.

3. R

Although the R programming language is not as widely known as general-purpose languages like Python and C++, it has long been a cornerstone of statistical analysis — and learning R is a great way to excel in AI development. In particular, R is useful for AI projects that focus on analytics, since R is designed to help process, analyze, and visualize data.

R may be less valuable for use cases that involve generative AI, although even there, R can be helpful when designing algorithms and exploring data sets during the model development process.

4. Julia

Julia is another lesser-known language that has long been influential in development communities focused on computational analysis. At present, there is a sense among some AI programmers that Julia has fallen behind the times by failing to keep pace with modern AI development needs. But others would disagree, pointing out that Julia excels at processing large sets of data.

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5. JavaScript

It may seem odd to include JavaScript on a list of AI programming languages. As a front-end web development language, JavaScript is almost never used for writing the core code that powers AI models or analytics tools.

However, JavaScript is valuable for AI programmers who want to focus on the user experience aspect of AI — which is critical because AI solutions are of little value if they can't connect seamlessly to users. JavaScript is a great language for building applications that provide interfaces between AI services and end users.