The government should ban autonomous, gun-weilding robots before it’s too  late, Human Rights Watch is warning.

The group, which is dedicated to protecting human rights against oppression  and discrimination, issued the warning in a 50-page report titled “Losing Humanity: The Case Against  Killer Robots.” It argues that bans are needed against fully autonomous drones and sentry robots  under development in China, Germany, the United States, Israel, and more. Such  robots lack human qualities needed to keep them in check, the group says.

“Giving machines the power to decide who lives and dies on the battlefield  would take technology too far,” said Steve Goose, arms division director at  Human Rights Watch. “Human control of robotic warfare is essential to minimizing  civilian deaths and injuries.”

The report, jointly published by the rights group and the Harvard Law  School’s International Rights Clinic, calls for an international treaty that  would prohibit further development of such weapons.

Fully autonomous weapons do not yet exist, Human Rights Watch noted, and  major powers including the United States, have not made a decision to deploy  them. But such high tech weapons are clearly under development.

Many experts predict that full autonomy for weapons could be achieved in 20  to 30 years or sooner, the group said.

“It is essential to stop the development of killer robots before they show up  in national arsenals,” Goose said. “As countries become more invested in this  technology, it will become harder to persuade them to give it up.”