Classical Extraction in Continuation Models

We use the control features of continuation models to interpret proofs in first-order classical theories. This interpretation is suitable for extracting algorithms from proofs of Pi^0_2 formulas. It is fundamentally different from the usual direct interpretation, which is shown to be equivalent to Friedman\u27s trick. The main difference is that atomic formulas and natural numbers are interpreted as distinct objects. Nevertheless, the control features inherent to the continuation models permit extraction using a special "channel" on which the extracted value is transmitted at toplevel without unfolding the recursive calls. We prove that the technique fails in Scott domains, but succeeds in the refined setting of Laird\u27s bistable bicpos, as well as in game semantics