Rust has delivered memory safety without compromising speed, delivering benefits such as no garbage collector to improve performance. Rust is gaining relevance in backend development due to its ability to provide memory safety and performance. To build a Rust bird-watching API powered by a PlanetScale MySQL database, the guide assumes a basic knowledge of Rust and sets up a new project using Cargo. The guide then connects the project to the database using Diesel as an ORM, exposes endpoints using Rocket, and adds features such as adding, viewing, and removing bird sightings.