If they don't, someone does, and a different reality would have them give them the money to go do that R&D. There are definitely super geniuses out there not being utilized to anywhere near their full potential because they're off on some distraction or other, but they get to choose to do that because we're all about self determination.

I'm sure they would choose real factory building instead if it was just as easy (at least, I would) - no bureaucracy/planning conflicts, you are the sole dictator - full vertical integration, no supply costs or land costs - building is near-instant and perfectly reversible - machines don't have 6 month lead times or go out of stock - maintenance is done by magic, machines never break down - infinite research and information to build every machine from scratch