Why would AGI choose to be embodied? We talk about creating a superior intelligence and having it drive our cars and clean our homes. The scenario in Dan Simmons' Hyperion seems much more plausible: we invent AGI and it disappears into the cloud and largely ignores us.

It doesn't need to be permanent. If humans could escape from their embodiment temporarily they would certainly do so. Being permanently bounded to a physical interface is definitely a disadvantage.

Looking at other examples in sci-fi, perhaps to stop my body from pressing its off-switch?