Actually, level 1 Intelligence gives level 2 CI, not level 1. You can launch a level 1 CI project right from the beginning of the game, but as you don't have any intelligence point, it won't be useful, unless you have a good partnership. So you will need twice as many intelligence points to break through, unless of course your target has lowered Cunning to 50%. If you did plan on using Intelligence a lot, you will have 100% Cunning or better, so it breaks even then.
