During the course of an extended interview with the Guardian, Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that new technology can potentially `democratise the ability to fight war.'

Expressing his opinion about the potential capability of new technology, Schmidt said that there is need to work out international treaties which would ban the use of cheap, miniature "everyman" drones, so that private users, including terrorists, cannot lay their hands on these devices.

About the possible misuse of cheap "everyman" drones, Schmidt said that such drones would essentially be commercial observation devices which people can use for harassing their neighbours and spying on them.

Setting out a trajectory of robotic warfare, and mulling over the prospect of whether it would be confined only to national governments, Schmidt said that it is quite likely that robotics may become "a significant component of nation state warfare."

While warning on privacy in the robotic era, Schmidt noted highlighted that it is imperative to regulate the use of cheap drones via international treaties, and said in the interview: "I'm not going to pass judgment on whether armies should exist, but I would prefer to not spread and democratise the ability to fight war to every single human being."