AI-proof? Younger workers desert the digital world for traditional crafts

For decades, a university degree seemed to promise a stable career - but entry-level white-collar jobs across almost all sectors are being disrupted by AI . Budding accountants, software engineers and junior lawyers increasingly find themselves displaced by cheap automation. Even creative fields are struggling against AI tech that can produce artwork, lengthy prose or complex design briefs in seconds. But many young workers have responded by turning to what they see as "AI-proof" heritage crafts. These are the centuries-old, hands-on jobs, such as boat-making, metalwork or bookbinding, that require specialist knowledge built on creative judgment and dexterity, skills not yet mastered by AI. Eryn Lawley, a 27-year-old politics graduate, said future-proofing her career meant walking away from the digital world.