The ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29 subcommittee, long the engine behind JPEG and MPEG, is expanding its remit beyond media for humans to include data for machines. Its standards now address images, video, 3D, AI and even biological storage. As global data production climbs from 59 ZB in 2020 toward an estimated 175 ZB by 2025, efficient compression becomes a systemic necessity today globally.

New JPEG extensions illustrate how compression is morphing into a multi‑modal toolkit. JPEG AI replaces pixel‑level transforms with latent‑tensor coding, letting decoders run directly on compressed data for computer‑vision tasks. JPEG XS sacrifices deep compression for ultra‑low latency, moving 4K video over legacy 1080p bandwidth. Meanwhile JPEG DNA defines how to encode images into synthetic DNA strands, targeting century‑scale archival storage.

These standards give developers a unified path to compress heterogeneous data streams without bespoke pipelines. By supporting on‑device adaptability, authenticity metadata, and even molecular encoding, the committee bridges entertainment, scientific research, and long‑term preservation across industries worldwide. The shift signals that compression will soon be as foundational to AI and edge computing as the transistor once was.