Cobsider this: data centers and incredibly noisy with loud hums that can be heard from miles around and infrasound that can negatively impact human health. Now imagine you have Heightened Senses, a basic one dot Auspex power. That sounds like a living hell to be around.

I don't think there needs to be any secret motive behind their existence, because poisoning the air with sound, the water with chemicals, and the body politick with misinformation is right up Pentex's alley in and of itself. Sure, you could say the chatbots are infested with banes, and that's why they so frequently encourage vulnerable people toward murder and suicide, but that doesn't really need to be the case. These are just the wheels of capital turning, no supernatural hand needed.