So intel is now going to have I9s. One of them has 18 cores. For those times when 8 just isn't enough. Will support up to 128 GB of RAM. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/processors/core/x-series/i9-7980xe.html
It very much can through server virtualization. Also more processors will better support AI. Though highly inefficient, the human brain, has impressive processing capabilities.
Yep. It's called the threadripper (i think it is in the Ryzen series). 8, 12 and 16 core versions. 8 core will be $550 with the 16 core being $1,000. https://www.google.com/amp/www.techadvisor.co.uk/new-product/pc-components/amd-ryzen-threadripper-news-release-date-uk-price-features-specifications-3643552/?amp
I'm fair to middling it's probably both when someone fails to correctly install a third party heatsink ^.^