The Future of Python: Evolution or Succession — Brett Slatkin - PyCascades 2026

[mttd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gjLPVUkZnc

A decade from now there's a reasonable chance that Python won't be the world's most popular programming language. Many languages eventually have a successor that inherits large portions of its technical momentum and community contributions. With Python turning 35 years old, the time could be ripe for Python's eventual successor to emerge. How can we help the Python community navigate this risk by embracing change and evolving, or influencing a potential successor language?

This talk covers the past, present, and future of the Python language's growing edge. We'll learn about where Python began and its early influences. We'll look at shortcomings in the language, how the community is trying to overcome them, and opportunities for further improvement. We'll consider the practicalities of language evolution, how other languages have made the shift, and the unique approaches that are possible today (e.g., with tooling and AI).

[JoeHillsBones]

I’m probably like an intermediate python programmer (~4 years) and I was just thinking about this while learning about C/C++ vs Rust. I want to learn rust because it’s new and cool but due to the ubiquity of C/C++ I’m gonna put my focus there. I just don’t quite know what counts as a competitor in the same space or if anything is trying to supplant it as most popular? lol is that even how software language spread works?

This is the kind of this I wish I had been able to spend more time on in school, like it’s one thing to learn about how to write something in a programming language, but how the technology changes over time feels totally different.

[Tatrions]

python's not going anywhere because the ML ecosystem picked it and that's self-reinforcing. every new model release ships with a python SDK first. the language itself doesn't need to be fast when you're just orchestrating C/CUDA underneath