Does Artificial Intelligence Require Specialized Processors? - The New Stack

Artificial intelligence: everybody is talking about it, and the as-of-yet unrealized possibilities of the technology are fueling a renaissance in the hardware and software industry. Hardware and software companies -- including Intel, NVidia, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Facebook, Qualcomm, ARM and many others -- are racing to build the next AI hardware platform or fighting to maintain their lead. AI, and deep learning (a sub-field of neural networks) in particular is an inherently non-Von Neumann process, and the prospect of having a processor more closely tailored to the specific needs of neural networks is appealing. But, I like to think before acting, especially before diving into a potentially very expensive hardware project. Should the AI industry build a specialized deep learning chip, and, if so, what should it look like?