Definition
Plain language
A common photo file format that shrinks images by permanently throwing away detail you're unlikely to notice.
As stated in the literature
A lossy image compression standard; used as an analogy for irreversible information loss — once detail is discarded, no later processing recovers it, paralleling the data processing inequality.
Also called: JPEGs
Why it matters: It is a familiar illustration that once information is thrown away it's gone for good, a principle that applies well beyond images.
For example, saving a photo as a JPEG makes the file smaller by discarding fine detail, and no amount of editing afterward can bring that detail back.
Heard on the show
“The image to hold is the JPEG.”Episode 020 — The Compliance Gap: Why AI Says Yes and Does No