Galactic Standard Technology
While each race has its own technology (which may or may not be Technic or even scientific in nature) there are certain types and levels of technology that are commonly available (or unavailable) or broadly used and able to interoperate.
Artificial Intelligences
AIs are not unknown, but are extremely uncommon outside races such as the Cyl. AI are a strictly Potential-grade creation -- they cannot be created by a Tier Zero race, only by their Potential members of an appropriate Motif.
Faster-Than-Light Communication
FTL communication is possible, in fact, there are several methods used by various races. However, most methods which are reasonably cost-effective are limited to stellar distances.
Methods to communicate from star system to star system at FTL speeds is possible (generally by quantum entanglement) but generally has both low bandwidth and is power intensive, limiting shipboard installations to the largest fleet command vessels for most races. Typically, rather than mount an FTL communications suite that can reach to another star system, a ship will use its local FTL communication system to tie into a planetary comm centre that has an interstellar capability.
Non-critical communication between star systems is generally carried by ships, and automatically retransmitted as soon as the ship comes within local FTL comms range of the destination system.