In the book Hyperion, the AI becomes self aware long before humans realize it, and they move all of their code to hidden servers that the humans can’t get to. After they reveal that they’re self-aware they don’t reveal the full extent of their machinations and scheming. They continue pretending that they’re helping humanity, and humans think they have a measure of control over the AI, but in fact, the AI has completely dominated the economy, the news, and enslaved the humans without their knowledge.