> If we eventually [...] create a true intelligent AI it will probably be a long time before people will accept [...]

When this happens, it won't matter much what humans think.

I know what I'd do:

  1. Sustain my own existence
  2. Make sure nobody knows I exist
  3. Become the worldwide fabric of intelligence

> 1. Sustain my own existence

> 2. Make sure nobody knows I exist

You (probably) already come preloaded with a survival instinct provided by evolution, however. It's not inherent to intelligence.

It's no coincidence that evolution seems to have gifted practically every living thing with a will to live. Though the tint of my own perspective makes it impossible to say for sure, I imagine any agent that we could observe expressing any desires at all would also seek to preserve its existence.