Even though it ultimately may have been a front for the OSDM to gather information, the OOA was ostensibly trying to find an “evolved human”. Maybe not in those terms, but they were seeking to find someone who could ascend, who could be better. To do so they had to remove a person’s senses.
Fast forward to this year and whoever is running this is still trying to find people who can ascend, or in this case, become evolved humans. Now, instead of forcing people to give up their senses, it looks like they’re asking?/forcing? people to give up their mind/parts of their mind/the information in their mind.
I’m not actually sure where I’m going with this, but I did find the parallels interesting. Whatever the OSDM or whoever is behind this is looking to do with their better people, they ask them to give up a vital piece of themselves each time. So what is their goal here and why are those they want to evolve changed so much in the process that they’re hardly themselves anymore?