The 5 best programming languages for AI development

Ngoc Huynh

Are you an AI (artificial intelligence) aspirant who’s confused on which programming language to pick for your next project? If so, you’ve come to the right place, as here we are going to look at the best 4 programming languages for AI development.

Artificial Intelligence is a huge field. With so much to cover, it is really hard to refer one single programming language. Clearly, there are many programming languages that can be used, but not every programming language offers you the best value of your time and effort. And there’s no authoritative answer as to which programming language you should use for AI project.

With the help of this Learn Page, you can get started with any of the available programming languages. Just type your favorite programming language, and you’ll get all the vital information to begin. For example, best books, history, real-world projects, and so on.

Python

Python is one of the most widely used programming languages in the AI field of Artificial Intelligence thanks to its simplicity. It can seamlessly be used with the data structures and other frequently used AI algorithms.

The choice of Python for AI projects also stems from the fact that there are plenty of useful libraries that can be used in AI. For example, Numpy offers scientific computation capability, Scypy for advanced computing and Pybrain for machine learning in Python.

You will also have no problems learning Python for AI as there are tons of resources available online.

Java

Java is also a great choice. It is an object-oriented programming language that focuses on providing all the high-level features needed to work on AI projects, it’s portable, and it offers in-built garbage collection. The Java community is also a plus point as there will be someone to help you with your queries and problems.

Java is also a good choice as it offers an easy way to code algorithms, and AI is full of algorithms, be they search algorithms, natural language processing algorithms or neural networks. Not to mention that Java also allows for scalability, which is a must-have feature for AI projects.

Lisp

Lisp fares well in the AI field because of its excellent prototyping capabilities and its support for symbolic expressions. It’s a powerful programming language and is used in major AI projects, such as Macsyma, DART, and CYC.

The Lisp language is mostly used in the Machine Learning/ ILP sub-field because of its usability and symbolic structure. Peter Norvig, the famous computer scientist who works extensively in the AI field, and also the writer of the famous AI book, “Artificial Intelligence: A modern approach,” explains why Lisp is one of the top programming languages for AI development in a Quora answer.

Prolog

Prolog stands alongside Lisp when it comes to usefulness and usability. According to the literature, Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence, Prolog is one of those programming languagesfor some basic mechanisms, which can be extremely useful for AI programming. For example, it offers pattern matching, automatic backtracking, and tree-based data structuring mechanisms. Combining these mechanisms provides a flexible framework to work with.

Prolog is extensively used in expert systems for AI and is also useful for working on medical projects.

C++

C++ is the fastest programming language in the world. Its ability to talk at the hardware level enables developers to improve their program execution time. C++ is extremely useful for AI projects, which are time-sensitive. Search engines, for example, can utilize C++ extensively.

In AI, C++ can be used for statistical AI techniques like those found in neural networks. Algorithms can also be written extensively in the C++ for speed execution, and AI in games is mostly coded in C++ for faster execution and response time.

Final thoughts

Choosing a programming language for your AI project depends heavily on the sub-field. So before you pick up a programming language, ensure that it can be utilized extensively and not partially. Above all these programming languages, Python is slowly making its way to the top as it is viable to use for most of the AI subfields. Lisp and Prolog have always been there and are still being used extensively by certain groups as they are more productive with them. Java and C++ are also still very useful because of the benefits they offer.

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Source : http://www.infoworld.com