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Robots that pretend to be human will be deployed by rogue nations to spy on their own people and rival countries, a top expert fears.

Dr Ian Pearson believes robots will easily be able to blend in with human populations without us noticing.

The ex-cybernetics engineer predicts western countries will create laws to ensure citizens are made aware of a robot's presence.

But he warned rogue nations will flout the need for these rules and take advantage – by deploying human-like robots as spies.

And he highlighted China as a country who may use them as a form of CCTV in other countries.

Dr Pearson, a futurologist, told Daily Star Online: "When you're talking to artificial intelligence (AI) online it has to tell you it's an AI, because you're talking to a robot and not a human being.

(Image: Getty Images)

"If you were a small nation or independent and don't subscribe to western authorities, don't think that Europe should tell you what to do, then you can go ahead and do whatever the hell you want.

"China, given its love for authoritarianism and surveillance, may decide that the easiest way to monitor its people is to have some state-controlled robots masquerading as people among everyone else.

"That would be a really good way of doing it, wouldn't it?

Just because Europe has decided to make it illegal and Silicone Valley decide it's not up to their standards, it still might happen in places like China or Russia or anywhere else.

(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"What's to stop a guy with a big yacht pulling into some harbour in China and buying a few dozen of these and then hoarding them into the west?

"So once they exist in one country they could be everywhere. I don't believe that you can stop it."

Dr Pearson further said that it would be unethical for anyone in future to allow robots to blend in without notification.

(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Dr Pearson told Daily Star Online: "It's possible someone might review it, and stop you form building robots that blend in.

"It's possible it might be illegal to do so.

"They might decided that it's not ethically sound to allow robots to be there in public without everybody being told that they are a robot."