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Oh just kidding, I try to get shields, or armor, or energy weapons or racial techs first. You really need something good to defend your ships, that is a more likely early threat. But I try to get intelligence soon after. Some who starts earlier may have an advantage, but level 1 intelligence projects aren't so vicious. Lost movement, lost supplies on ships that are in orbit around a resupply base are actually funny when it happens.
I really feel that Applied Intelligence 1 should be a starting tech. Just so you can start building facilities on planets at the beginning like research facilities.