I am certain there could be several other purposes for this type of installation. However, the fact that the AI systems insist that it is prison, and that they continuously refer to us as inmates or criminals, it is certainly difficult to believe they look at this in any other capacity.
[He leaned his elbows on the table, carefully clasping his hands. His arm was still a bit tender from the raptor incident the other night.]
However, it does make one wonder if they are doing that as part of some sort of experiment. Are we truly 'criminals' or just subjects?