Artificial Intelligence Uses a Computer Chip Designed for Video Games. Does That Matter?

Participants sit at computers to play a video game at the 2019 DreamHack video gaming festival in Leipzig, Germany. GPUs were originally designed for the video gaming industry because they are particularly good at matrix arithmetic. As AI and machine learning become more and more widespread in the global economy, there is an increasing focus on the hardware that drives them. Currently, nearly all AI systems run on a chip known as a GPU that was designed for video gaming. Are current chip designs fit for purpose in an AI future, or is a new type of chip needed?