I have read way too much scifi.
The theory I have come up with is we are a very young life form/sentience galactically who are progressing exponentially faster than the life forms who are out there.
They watch us because we scare them.
14 billion years plus a few since stuff we see has existed. We have popped up as a life form in the last 4 plus a bit years since the planet coalesced around that furnace in the sky. 3.1ish billion years or even more till life and all that time on the Dino experiment, and what... 5 million since hominids... and 250k since Homo Sapiens, and what... 5000 years since organizing in scale... and what... 70 years from discovering fission, and what... 50 years from getting off the planet.
I see humanity like I see computers. A doubling time period. We are exponential. They are like bees in a hive. Linear development.
The only reason they are ahead of us right now is they have been plodding down the development line a very very long time. Billions of years.
That scares me because we are a threat. What do bees do to a threat?
Local Target had about 15 packs of Beyond Beef, today, marked with a $5.00 off coupon. Regular price $8.99. Give me $15.00 bucks and I'll put it in my weely garbage pickup and relieve them from the job.