In Episode 12 of Allergic Reaction, Lisa Lomax explores kindness through two distinct trajectories: one synthetic and one deeply human. Lisa begins with friend.com, a wearable AI companion that promises emotional support and friendship. Is it an antidote to loneliness, a tool for connection or a purposeful delusion we choose to believe in so we don’t feel alone? There seems to be a fine line between kindness and delusion in our present-day reality. Perhaps we must believe in a kind of delusion to imagine possible futures? Then, Lisa reconnects with artist Trek Thunder Kelly, known for living in his van for five years as part of a micro-living art project. His newest project is a performance art piece centered around kindness. Trek is a walking advertisement for kindness, both on his shirt and in his kind daily actions. He travels the world painting 'Be Kind' murals in local languages. Trek acknowledges the darkness and uncertainty of our times, but sees acts of kindness as very real antidotes to the dark. Together, Lisa and Trek explore kindness as an act of resistance, a creative discipline and a delusional force that may just reshape reality itself. This episode meditates on whether the future of emotional intelligence belongs to humans, machines or those who live between the two.