iv noticed the AI expands VERY fast at first, then slows to crawl as they expand so fast all their planets get 0 morale. if you watch your ally youll probably see them buying almost everything the first 10 turns. colo's / shipyards / scout ships / ect... so they expand super fast, then it tapers off to them actually building things.
I'm generally behind first 20-30 turns, bout even till 70 then 100+ I skyrocket ahead of the AI. but I also micro manage all my planets, 100 industry until buildings are finished then max their focus. so my research for example is very slow start. i'm also on challenging and immense map though so I have the time to slowly ramp up like that. others in the forums have proven lvl 1 (basic) buildings will give more yield over 75 turns if you don't split its output with production to improve the buildings (research/econ anyway).
as for tech, the benevolent ideology gives free tech points. very good early game, but everything else is meh in benevolent. I like mixing pragmatic and melvolent myself. 50% bonus to morale building on first planet taken is soooo nice later on.
...erm...rambling over, enjoy random tidbits
