GUIs are luxury items in the science world

Anecdotal evidence suggests that GUIs are often shunned by scientists, who prefer a programmatic access to platform services. Indeed, scripting provides a level of transparency and reproductibility that few GUIs can offer. Why then do research platforms feel the need to develop a GUI, when it can drain 30-50% of the project's funds. Is the real purpose of GUIs to wow funders and upper management ? Is it worth the opportunity costs for scientific users ?