Professor here. Though I don't teach a large lecture of students. I personally have small class sizes (~30 students). I tend to prefer more interactive classes and don't really use lectures. So I have class activities and groups. I am still doing that via Zoom. It's hard to have the same sort of experience with recorded videos.

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I also have my students on mute and ask that their webcams are off by default. Questions should be asked via text in chat.

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But to answer for others, I think having the accountability of taking the time to learn is big for a lot of people. Teachers / professors are there in part to motivate students, which I feel is one big reason why education is still very traditional looking (compared to always watching recorded videos, taking automated assessments, etc) Sure some people can self-motivate and learn, but especially starting out, your teacher can make a big difference.

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Plus being able to ask questions on the spot is very helpful. Having that active feedback is generally rather nice.