‘Go’ is Making a Comeback Due to Cybersecurity and AI Development

Go programming language experiences resurgence: The open-source language Go, initially released in 2009, is making a comeback due to its growing importance in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence development.

Cybersecurity endorsement boosts Go’s profile: International security experts have recommended a transition to memory-safe programming languages, including Go, to address critical vulnerabilities.

• In December 2023, cybersecurity authorities from five countries, including the U.S. National Security Agency, issued a report advocating for the use of memory-safe languages like Go, C#, Java, Python, Rust, and Swift.
• The recommendation aims to mitigate memory safety vulnerabilities that affect software development across various industries.
• Neal Ziring, technical director of NSA Cybersecurity Directorate, emphasized the importance of setting clear goals and timelines for transitioning to safer programming languages.

Go’s growing adoption in tech industry: Major companies are increasingly utilizing Go for various applications, highlighting its versatility and efficiency.

• Leading tech firms such as PayPal, Dropbox, Uber, Microsoft, and ByteDance are using Go to develop web services, backend services, and critical infrastructure.
• Go is gaining popularity among ‘FAANG’ companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google), further solidifying its position in the tech industry.
• The language’s efficiency and high performance with large datasets make it particularly suitable for AI development.

Go’s role in AI development: Recent surveys indicate a growing interest in using Go for AI-powered applications and services.

• A 2024 H1 developer survey revealed that most respondents working on AI-powered applications either currently use Go or would like to switch to it for their AI workloads.
• Developers cited Go’s robustness, simplicity, and performance as key factors for its adoption in AI development.
• Approximately one-third of respondents building AI-powered features reported using Go for various GenAI tasks, including prototyping new features and integrating services with Large Language Models (LLMs).

Go’s strengths in specific AI domains: The language shows particular promise in certain areas of AI development.

• Go is especially useful for hosting API endpoints for ML/AI models (41% of respondents) and data pipelines for ML/AI systems (37% of respondents).
• However, Python and PyTorch continue to dominate AI development due to their established ecosystems and libraries.
• Efforts are likely underway to improve Go’s AI libraries and ecosystems to enhance its competitiveness in this field.

Comparison with other languages: Go shares some advantages with Python while offering unique benefits for developers.

• Both Go and Python are relatively easy to learn, making them ideal for beginners.
• Go and Python have easy-to-understand syntax and first-party support from major cloud providers, with AWS and Azure offering particularly strong support for Go.
• According to Stack Overflow’s 2024 survey, Go developers command an average annual salary of $75,361, which compares favorably to Python ($67,559), C# ($65,467), and SQL ($64,444).

Future prospects and career implications: Go’s recent developments position it as a promising language for developers looking to advance their careers.

• The language’s endorsement by international security experts and growing adoption in AI-powered applications contribute to its increasing relevance.
• Go is emerging as a versatile and future-proof language that is likely to play a significant role in shaping the future of software development.
• For developers seeking to upskill or pivot their careers, learning Go could be a strategic move to capitalize on its growing importance in the tech industry.

Analyzing deeper: While Go’s resurgence is noteworthy, its long-term success in AI development will depend on continued improvements to its ecosystem and libraries. The language’s ability to balance security, performance, and ease of use positions it well for future growth, but it will need to overcome the established dominance of Python in the AI field to truly revolutionize the landscape.