Only if they are bad communicators. And then you either lose any record of what was discussed or you have to write notes, which will have to be clear without human interaction anyway, so why not just write that email and draw those diagrams and save everyone the trouble from the start?
OK, I agree with your points that having written notes is good, and I would say that 90% or more of meetings that I attend are a waste of time, but then occasionally something useful does come out that can't be conveyed clearly via email.
