To achieve natural longitudinal stability of the conventional aircraft there needs to be a download on the tail. This download can be as high as 30 tonnes for a heavy 747. The wings have to balance out the download with extra lift - a disappointing penalty.
Artificial stability allows the tail loads to come back to close to zero resulting in reductions in induced drag and for highly manoeuverable aircraft very rapid pitch rates.
The horizontal stabs on these aircraft are likely to be close to symmetrical or often just slabs which have a very busy time defeating the tendency to run away in pitch at the slightest disturbance.
A good stick and rudder pilot would find it hard going and probably impossible to fly one in manual so they do not have manual reversion. Triplicated flight control systems are considered to be enough insurance. If all systems fail - eject.
The early designs with artificial stability had the name of CCVs = Control Configured Vehicles. Perhas a better name is/has come out of the woodwork.