Why hasn’t Rust gained the same recognition as Python in AI, ML, and DS, despite its significant ecosystem potential and notably better speed compared to Python?
Also, why haven’t people actively developed Rust libraries for data analysis and processing, similar to what has been done in Python?
Because python allows you to prototype and iterate quickly, whereas in Rust you have to fight the compiler every step of the way to convince it to do what you want. People have been trying to build DL frameworks in languages such as Swift and C++ (dlib, Flashlight) but none have taken off.
Python can be a pita due to stuff like lack of multi-threading, but for most things it is quick and easy to experiment in, and the amount of code you have to write is not too far off from the corresponding mathematical notation, so for now I think it will keep its position as the most popular language for AI/ML.
Before we could use python, most researchers were using Matlab, which was really holding down progress due to its closed-source nature.