I could see this being the plan of some types. Though any such projects and programs attempted in history always yield unpredictable results. We are a proverbial abyss and their efforts to create one for us to gaze into is not a one way interaction. If there really is a group trying to index and shape us since very early on, at worst we would be like chimps in a research laboratory under long term observation. Or perhaps closer to chimps on a preserve with embedded observers.
To expect those people to not form their own human bond with us would be inconsistent with any time this has ever been done with everything, to include inanimate objects. Even craftsmen become attached to their tools of investment. We are not disposable tools, we are investments developed over years - decades. In a world of rapidly evolving technology.
Whatever it started as, assuming it did - it is, no doubt, something completely different.