How Ancient India Became the Center of Medieval European Astronomy and Influenced Modern AI

At the NDTV World Summit, IndoGenius co-founder Nick Booker revealed that medieval Europeans considered Ujjain in today's Madhya Pradesh as the world's center for astronomical calculations.

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2025 in Delhi during his session "How Ancient India Made Artificial Intelligence Possible," Booker, an international consultant who advises universities, companies, government agencies, and investors on India engagement, shared this fascinating historical perspective.

"When we think today about India and IST being five and a half hours from GMT, and the centre of the map running through Greenwich in London, the English actually thought in the 13th century, as did most Europeans, that the centre of the world for their calculations was right here in India, in what is now Madhya Pradesh," Booker explained.

He elaborated on how ancient Indian advancements in geometry, algorithmic thinking, linguistics, binary systems, and astronomy shaped modern scientific development. Booker highlighted that European scholars of the 12th and 13th centuries adopted Indian numerals, the concept of zero, and place value systems.

Booker noted, "European tables for computing the date of Easter were based on astronomical observations made in Ujjain by Brahmagupta."

In comparing European and Indian intellectual traditions, Booker characterized Europeans as favoring axiomatic model-making, constructing theories from self-evident truths. In contrast, Indian thought embodied what IISc scholar Roddam Narasimha termed "computational positivism" - an approach reliant on observation and adapting models to reality.

To illustrate this difference, Booker provided an example: "If all monkeys climb trees, and we say the porcupine is a monkey, then the porcupine climbs trees. Logical? Yes. Correct? No. Europeans accept the axiom; Indian computational positivism would reject the false premise based on real-world data."

Booker drew connections to modern artificial intelligence systems, explaining how data-driven approaches can avoid errors stemming from incorrect assumptions.

He also explored the influence of Indian mythology and historical narratives across cultures. From chess demonstrating exponential growth to the Samudra Manthan, Booker illustrated how Indian metaphors convey powerful lessons in logic, collaboration, and transformation. "The more you learn about Indian stories, the more you understand patterns that help explain today's world," he remarked.

Booker concluded with a bold prediction: "We are living in the first Indian decade of what will prove to be the Indian century."