I'd definitely recommend playing against humans if you can, I never found the computers quite as fun to play against.
Which may have helped me avoid that issue, by the time I ever played against a computer they were pretty easy just because I'd played my friends a lot.
If there's any big advice I'd give though, it's just definitely focus on expanding your production and planets as quickly as you can near the beginning.
I'd definitely recommend playing against humans if you can, I never found the computers quite as fun to play against.
Which may have helped me avoid that issue, by the time I ever played against a computer they were pretty easy just because I'd played my friends a lot.
If there's any big advice I'd give though, it's just definitely focus on expanding your production and planets as quickly as you can near the beginning.