One thing that Python has that virtually no (well okay groovy and nim do too) other programming language has is whitespace for blocks rather than visible braces (or even BEGIN/END ala Wirthian languages). That's something much like line numbers in classic BASIC that introduces a roadblock when learners move on from it.

js is a web scripting language that can be strong-armed into running scripts through a runtime.

Python is a general development language that can be used to build servers and web pages, but does a lot more besides.

They're not really comparable.

Having said that - I wouldn't be surprised if Python drifts towards stronger typing, although it will probably remain optional.

I can see Rust (and to some degree, Go) as the modern outputs from AI. My point about Python being Pinyin is that both of these languages have a relatively steep learning curve for someone without programming experience, and that it might be worth learning Python before doing agentic coding in Rust, much as children in China learn Latin characters before they learn characters.

A big selling point for Python is the large number of native extensions.

Rust has a huge advantage here, in fact many popular Python libraries use Rust underneath.

> Most of the major downsides of either language go away if you let the agent write almost all of the code

But then you have the major downside of 'writing' poor code.

It's an interesting point but I fear Go's FFI is going to kneecap its ability to be widely adopted unless that story improves significantly. It's a lovely language if your interop with other languages is minimal.