I think the people before me having covered everything - its a cheap method to finish poor quality drywall work. Also commonly used to hide damage... Would make me very suspicious there is/was a leak or some other problem they decided to cover up.

If the building is very new, then asbestos shouldn't be an issue. If it is asbestos, there is nothing you can do without getting asbestos remediation done first.

About removing it - the common method is to scrape it off. Then you would sand (with a vacuum) and try to finish the drywall on the ceiling properly, which will be a PITA. You may find it easier overall to scrape to get it generally flat then add another thin (1/4" or 3/8" thick) layer of drywall and finish that.