Calls are growing for stricter controls on autonomous weapons to prevent the rise of "killer robots", a new report claims.
Campaigners Human Rights Watch said that 30 countries have now said they want a ban on fully autonomous weapons - which do not need meaningful human intervention to be lethal.
Keeping control over these weapons is an "ethical imperative, a legal necessity, and a moral obligation", said Mary Wareham, arms division advocacy director for the group.
Ms Wareham, who also helps run the Campaign To Stop Killer Robots, added: “Removing human control from the use of force is now widely regarded as a grave threat to humanity that, like climate change, deserves urgent multilateral action.
“An international ban treaty is the only effective way to deal with the serious challenges raised by fully autonomous weapons...
“All countries need to respond with urgency by opening negotiations on a new international ban treaty."
Countries that have called for a ban on using the weapons include Brazil, Austria and China - although Beijing is not against developing or producing them.
The UK is one of several countries cited as "investing heavily" in the development of autonomous weapons, alongside the US, Russia and China, among others.
Some countries opposed an outright ban at a convention last year, including the US and Russia.
Ben Donaldson, a spokesperson for the United Nations Association - UK, a charity campaigning for deeper international cooperation on global threats, told the Standard: "The UK's desire to be a global leader in tech and an influential player on the world stage depends on our ability to add value to international efforts to address major global risks.
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"A stark dehumanisation of warfare is one of the most catastrophic threats we face. UK action to ban lethal autonomous weapons is not only the right thing to do, it is also squarely in our national interest.
The report also notes that the British Government said in 2017 that there must always be "human oversight" in weapons.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence previously said that "there is no intent... to develop weapon systems that operate entirely without human input".
The global coronavirus crisis has provided a lesson on how governments can collaborate to help tackle an international problem, campaigners added.
Ms Wareham said: “Many governments share the same serious concerns over permitting machines to take human life on the battlefield, and their desire for human control provides a sound basis for collective action.
“While the pandemic has delayed diplomacy, it shows the importance of being prepared and responding with urgency to existential threats to humanity, such as killer robots."