Tal is, from the average person's perspective, a very high functioning and extremely dangerous sociopath. Anything and everything he does is to further his own ends. If he happens to be furthering your ends during that, it simply means your and his goals are aligned at the time. In Akras's case, the corporation provides Tal the tools, gear, executive authority, materials, personal, and test subjects to more or less do whatever the fuck he pleases provided it turns a profit. Which is exactly the kind of arrangement he thrives in.
From his perspective, he seeks to further his own ends and the ends of those whom he has deemed Useful. Said designation includes most of the squad, Akras, and the wiznerds. Those who are not useful are treated neutrally and with a complete lack of empathy and those who are deemed as malignant are treated in a hostile manner.
Originally, the goal of Godhood was just a minor fancy he had at one point. However upon acquiring the first bits of magic, and then discovering an entity that was the product of a failed* ascension, he has become convinced that it is absolutely possible to do it not only right, but well on top of that. Of further note, he has a sneaking suspicion that the numerous deities that humanity has imagined over time are Dead or Sleeping based on the total lack of activity and the very real status of deities and entities, possibly leaving behind corpses and therefore material to fuel an ascension event.
Tal at this point is less concerned about getting the job done relating to PETA and more interested in harvesting their lifeforce for later use. A kill switch in the corrupted hosts can be used directly to serve this goal, just yank the energy out of them and dump it in a modified Storage Stone for later.