On Saturday in Geneva, 128 countries agreed on a document that could open the way for international rules on weapons that can identify and fire on targets without human intervention.

These systems are popularly called “killer robots.” Agreement on a non-binding text is a remarkable step after more than a decade of talks.

Nicolle van Ruyen, executive director of the “Stop Killer Robots” coalition, told Reuters: “It is truly disappointing that all the work countries did on the text over the past three years was heavily diluted in the final hours.”