Drones have certainly developed a bad reputation of late. The unmanned aircraft have become known for their potential to take life. But if used properly, drones can save lives.
Surveillance and transportation drones are being used in countries such the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Sudan and South Sudan to help solve problems facing residents, from lack of infrastructure to warlords committing crimes against humanity. A panel of experts discussed the potential of drones to bring peace at the 2013 Social Good Summit on Monday.
See also: Not All Drones Are So Scary
"Technology is neutral. Drones have been associated with bad uses because of their military use," said Andreas Raptopoulos, founder of Matternet. "I think there are a lot of good uses for them as well. It's up to us to figure them out and really put them to work to solve the big challenges ."
Matternet uses "octocopter" drones to form transportation networks for spreading information and goods, such as medicine in Haiti.
Kevin Kennedy, chief of integrated training service for the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support, said the combination of the DRC's massive size and lack of infrastructure make it hard to monitor violence in the country ravaged by warlords.
"Unarmed aerial vehicles have enabled us to do surveillance and map threats," Kennedy said. "Peacekeepers who have a primary mandate to protect civilians against armed militias, who know the terrain well and obey no rules, definitely need an understanding of what's happening on the ground."
While she agreed about the potential of drones, panelist Whitney Williams, president of the strategic advisory firm Williamsworks, stressed the importance of involving residents in the decision-making process of what technologies get employed in their countries.
"One of the big things that we need to do is just have a dialogue with the Congolese about what they want," Williams said.
Panelist John Prendergast co-founded the Enough Project, which aims to end genocide and crimes against humanity. He recalled how a late-night brainstorm with one of the project's celebrity contributors, George Clooney, sparked the idea to use surveillance technology.
"'Everywhere I go, the paparazzi is following me,'" Prendergast said, citing Clooney's words. "'Satellites and Google Earth can watch who's driving in and out of my parking lot. Why isn't there some way we can watch people committing war crimes and crimes against humanity with the same kind of comprehensiveness?'"
Despite their enthusiasm for drones, the four panelists agreed that they're not a cure-all.
"Technology is not a silver bullet," said Peter Yeo, executive director of the Better World Campaign and moderator of the panel. "It has to be married with other types of initiatives."
If properly integrated with other technological systems and supported by political will, perhaps drones will become less known for the lives they take and more for those they save.

The Social Good Summit is where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions and is brought to you by Mashable, The 92nd Street Y, The United Nations Foundation, The United Nations Development Programme, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Ericsson. Held during U.N. Week, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges.
Date: Sept. 22 through Sept. 24 Time: 12 to 6 p.m. each day Location: 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y. Tickets are sold-out, but tune into the Livestream.
BONUS: 10 Empowering Apps for Social Good
Gone are the days of daring your friends without consequences. When you challenge your friends to Budge, the person who loses the challenge needs to donate an agreed upon amount to a charity of the winner's choosing.
Available on iOS.
Charity Miles lets you raise money for your favorite causes while walking, running or biking. The app's corporate sponsors donate 25 cents for each mile you walk or run, and 10 cents for each mile you bike.
Charity Miles is available for iOS and Android.
With every photo you share, Johnson & Johnson donates $1 to a cause of your choosing. The Donate a Photo app, available on iOS and Android, also lets you follow your friends' photos, so you can keep up with your social life.
Great for foodies, photographers and humanitarians, this iOS app adds a great cause to your foodstagrams. When you dine and snap a food shot at one of the participating restaurants -- which, for now, are only in New York -- a meal is donated to a non-profit feeding schoolchildren in South Africa.
In this free iOS game, you'll travel with Maya, an Indian girl, as she navigates the slums in search of clean water. The longer it takes her to find water, the more school she misses.
The game was created in partnership with charity: water, which lends in-game missions and video scenes to the app.
Did you know that with the money you save cooking three of your own meals, you could fund someone's HIV medicine for three months? Instead is an iOS app that shows you how much you can save with simple tweaks in your lifestyle. Once you make those cheaper decisions, Instead encourages you to donate to a non-profit out of your savings.
My Life as a Refugee is an app for iOS and Android created by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It lets anyone around the world experience life fleeing from conflict or persecution. Through beautiful illustrations, you'll read the stories of the app's many characters, who have been separated from their loved ones and have experienced hardships.
The Recyclebank app, available for iOS and Android, rewards you for recycling. The gamification of recycling awards points that you can redeem in stores and in the app.
Forget daily deal apps -- there are apps that give back while giving you a great deal. TangoTab, available for iOS and Android, donates meals to food banks every time a diner purchases one of its restaurant deals.
Eager for a new volunteer program? This iOS app brings the online volunteer network onto your smartphone. It has a sleek interface that will help you find great opportunities to give back near you.
VolunteerMatch lets you select which skill you're looking to use to volunteer, so you can lend your expert web design or managerial skills, for example.
Image: Flickr, cosmo flash