“The deployment of the first armed battlefield robots in Iraq is the latest step on a dangerous path — we are sleepwalking into a brave new world where robots decide who, where and when to kill,” says Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield.

“Fully autonomous robots that make their own decisions about lethality are high on the US military agenda…. We are going to give decisions on human fatality to machines that are not bright enough to be called stupid. With prices falling and technology becoming easier, we may soon see a robot arms race that will be difficult to stop.

“It is imperative that we create international legislation and a code of ethics for autonomous robots at war before it is too late.”