I think it basically comes to, if the rational agent recognizes that the rational thing to do is to NOT buckle under blackmail, regardless of what the rational agent simulating them threatens, then the blackmailer's simulation of the blackmailee will also not respond to that pressure, and so it's pointless to go to the effort of pressuring them in the first place.
However, if the blackmailer is irrational, their simulation of the blackmailee will be irrational, and thus they will carry through with the threat. This means that the blackmailee's simulation of the blackmailer as rational is itself inaccurate, as the simulation does not correspond to reality.
If the blackmailee is irrational, their simulation... (read more)
I think it basically comes to, if the rational agent recognizes that the rational thing to do is to NOT buckle under blackmail, regardless of what the rational agent simulating them threatens, then the blackmailer's simulation of the blackmailee will also not respond to that pressure, and so it's pointless to go to the effort of pressuring them in the first place. However, if the blackmailer is irrational, their simulation of the blackmailee will be irrational, and thus they will carry through with the threat. This means that the blackmailee's simulation of the blackmailer as rational is itself inaccurate, as the simulation does not correspond to reality. If the blackmailee is irrational, their simulation... (read more)